PRAYAGRAJ, India — At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India.

Indian authorities have ordered a probe into the stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela Hindu festival that killed dozens of devotees on Wednesday as millions gathered for a "holy dip" in sacred river waters as part of the six-week event,

People were trampled as pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the world’s biggest gatherings, gathered where the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers meet.

A senior police officer said at least 30 people died as a crowd panicked at the Hindu Kumbh Mela mega-festival in the northern city of Prayagraj.

Millions of Hindus are gathering in a northern Indian city for the Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s largest religious congregation

Multiple casualties were feared after a stampede-like incident broke out at a Hindu religious festival, the Maha Kumbh Mela, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, India's The Hindu newspaper reported early hours,