A once-in-12-year Hindu festival, Maha Kumbh, the world's largest religious gathering, is being held in Prayagraj, norther

The driver was believed to have a pistol in their vehicle when law enforcement first made contact, police said.

Between 90 to 100 million pilgrims had congregated to take ritual baths in sacred rivers at a festival in northern India.

People were trampled as pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the world’s biggest gatherings, gathered where the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers meet, officials said.

The Hindu festival that turned deadly in northern India on Wednesday is a religious gathering with deep spiritual meaning for devotees who come by the millions to take a cleansing dip in waters they consider sacred.

At least 30 people were killed on Wednesday (Jan 29) when a stampede broke out at the world's largest religious festival in India, according to the police.

From lazy strolls through ancient alleys to sacred rituals along the Ganges, Varanasi in winter promises memories of a lifetime.

A deadly stampede on Wednesday hit India's Kumbh Mela, a vast Hindu festival held by the banks of the Ganges river that 400 million pilgrims are expected to visit over its six-week duration. - Sacred bathing - The Kumbh Mela,

Grieving families in India are cremating their loved ones while others are caring for their injured relatives in hospitals a day after a stampede.

Dozens of people were killed in a pre-dawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India yesterday as tens of millions of Hindus gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of a six-week festival.

Wednesday marks one of the holiest days in the six-week Kumbh Mela, the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar.