Second stampede at Maha Kumbh? Another tragedy took place hours after first, ‘no one came to help’

Hours after a tragic stampede struck the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh early Wednesday, claiming at least 30 lives and injuring 60 others, another stampede occurred just 2 kilometers away. The second stampede at Maha Kumbh was reported in the Jhusi area around 5.55 am as the police and the administration were huddling to rescue the victims of the first stampede.

According to an India Today report citing an official, the death toll of 30, which has been shared as the casualty of the first stampede at Maha Kumbh, also includes those who lost their lives in the second stampede. The report said that the second stampede was not made public to avoid panic among the pilgrims.

According to the eyewitness, people were crushed and police arrived at the second stampede scene only after four hours. The people who died in the second stampede were only taken away by 1:30 pm. “There was no one here, no help,” an eyewitness told The Lallantop.

Another eyewitness said, “The crowd was so massive that it was completely out of control. People started breaking through the barricades and pushing forward.”

“There were bodies lying here, and no one was asking about them. People who had suffocated to death in the morning were taken away by 1:30 pm. A female police constable arrived after 4 hours of the stampede. The police were stopping people from shooting videos."

The first Maha Kumbh stampede

At least 30 people were killed and 60 injured in a pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya.

Several hours after the incident took place between 1-2 am, Maha Kumbh DIG Vaibhav Krishna said the incident took place as pilgrims, due to the pressure of the crowd, jumped over barricades and jumped to the other side, crushing those waiting there.

Over 90 injured were rushed to the hospital, of whom 30 died," he said.