Probe ordered after 30 deaths at world’s largest religious festival in India - Indian authorities have released an official statement on the death toll but it is expected to rise

Hundreds died in a stampede at the first Kumbh Mela in independent India in Allahabad in 1954 – a disaster caused by administrative miscalculations, poor crowd control, and infrastructural limitations.

At least 30 people have been killed in a crush at the world's largest religious gathering, the Hindu festival Kumbh Mela in northern India, officials say. The incident took place early on Wednesday when devotees on the riverbanks in the city of Prayagraj were trampled by other pilgrims rushing to take part in a sacred day of ritual bathing.