A senior police officer said at least 30 people died as a crowd panicked at the Hindu Kumbh Mela mega-festival in the northern city of Prayagraj.

Authorities say that at least 30 people have died and a further 60 were injured in a crowd crush at the massive Kumbh Mela festival in India. The world's biggest religious festival and humanity's largest gathering,

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.