Second stampede at Maha Kumbh claimed 7 lives: Report

There was reportedly a second stampede-like situation at the Maha Kumbh, hours after the first stampede, that led to the deaths of at least 7 people about three kms away from the widely-reported stampede at the Sangam nose that killed an estimated 30 people.

According to Kalpvasi police station circle officer Rudra Kumar Singh, this incident took place at Jhusi, where seven people were found dead at the spot, reported HT.

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The seven dead included three women and a 3-year-old child, and more than a dozen pilgrims were badly injured.

Eyewitnesses said that at about 6 am on Wednesday (January 29), one group of pilgrims leaving the Maha Kumbh after bathing at a nearby ghat ran into another group of devotees moving in the opposite direction. Both the groups could not move, and the crowd kept building up at both ends for hours.

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Crowd forced into electric substation

Suresh Bind, a person who works at the Mukti Marg electric substation in the locality, said the pressure from the crowd from both ends kept increasing and just before 2 pm, it resulted in a chaotic situation as there was no room for the people to move. The crowd was forced into the substation to avoid the press of people, and a lot of equipment was damaged. The officials shut down the transformer to prevent anyone from being electrocuted.

In the melee, seven people died and more than a dozen were critically hurt. The bodies were lying at the entrance to the substation, said Bind. An officer from the Kalpvasi police station said they arrived at the scene and called for ambulances to take the injured to the hospital.

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Rudra Kumar Singh said the dead bodies were yet to be identified though they had information about their hometowns. He said the bodies would be handed over to the relatives after identification.

Surprisingly, the Uttar Pradesh government made no mention about this second stampede when they briefed the media at 7 pm on Wednesday about the first stampede at the Sangam nose. The briefing was held by Vijay Kiran Anand, district magistrate of Mahakumbh Nagar, and Vaibhav Krishna, Mahakumbh Mela DIG.