At least seven people have died in multiple stampedes at India’s Kumbh Mela festival, as millions of Hindu devotees gathered for a ritual bath at the confluence of three sacred rivers.The crowd crush began at around 4am (local time) at Prayagraj,

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.

Millions of devout Hindus thronged the northern Indian city of Prayagraj on Thursday for the Maha Kumbh festival, a day after dozens died in a stampede on the most auspicious day of the six-week event.