Hundreds of pilgrims were left stranded without transportation, food, or shelter after a stampede at Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj caused chaos. Traffic curbs and overcrowded roads compounded the situation,

Moments before a deadly stampede at the world's biggest religious gathering in India, Hindu devotees queuing to take a spiritual bath in a river said they pleaded with police to open barricaded routes to thin out a surging crowd.

At least 17 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at India's Maha Kumbh festival, the world's largest religious gathering, a doctor at a government hospital said, as tens of thousands of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred river waters during the Hindu event.