Moments before a deadly stampede at the world's biggest religious gathering in India, Hindu devotees queuing to take a spiritual bath in a river said they pleaded with police to open barricaded routes to thin out a surging crowd.

At least 17 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at India's Maha Kumbh festival, the world's largest religious gathering, a doctor at a government hospital said, as tens of thousands of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred river waters during the Hindu event.

In the wee hours of January 29, Wednesday, a sudden surge in the number of pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj, led to a fatal stampede. The tragedy resulted in at least 90 reported casualties in which 60 got injured and 30 died.