

Prayagraj: Police said on Wednesday that 30 people had been killed and 90 injured in an early morning stampede at the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu mega-festival in India's northern city of Prayagraj.
"Thirty devotees have unfortunately died," senior police officer Vaibhav Krishna told a news conference. "Ninety injured were taken to the hospital."
As pilgrims rushed to participate in a sacred day of ritual bathing, people sleeping and sitting on the ground near the rivers told AFP they were trampled by huge swells of devotees coming towards them in the darkness.
"The entire crowd fell on top of me, trampling me as it moved forward," pilgrim Renu Devi, 48, said.
"When the crowd surged, elderly people and women were crushed, and no one came forward to help."
Rescue teams carrying victims from the accident site weaved through piles of clothes, shoes and other discarded belongings.
Police were seen carrying stretchers bearing the bodies of victims draped with thick blankets.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed people had died in the incident, calling it "extremely sad" and offering his "deepest condolences" to relatives of those killed.
"I wish for the speedy recovery of all injured," he added.
Dozens of relatives were anxiously waiting for news outside a large tent serving as a purpose-built hospital for the festival near the disaster site.
The six-week Kumbh Mela is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar.
Wednesday marks one of the holiest days in the festival, when saffron-clad holy men typically lead millions in a sin-cleansing ritual of bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.
Instead, officials were strolling the festival with loudhailers pleading with pilgrims to keep away from the disaster site and bathe at other locations.
"We humbly request all devotees do not come to the main bathing spot," said one festival staffer, his voice crackling through his megaphone.
But even as news of the stampede spread, crowds pushed through cordons to move towards the riverbed, shrugging off aggressive orders from police to turn back.
Officials from the Uttar Pradesh state government, responsible for staging the festival, said millions continued to bathe in the hours after the stampede.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told reporters that medical workers were treating those seriously injured in the crush, adding that the situation was "under control".
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi blamed the disaster on poor crowd control that prioritised the comfort of distinguished visitors.
"Mismanagement and the administration's special focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees are responsible for this tragic incident," he wrote on social media.
Railway police superintendent Ashtabhuja Singh told AFP that special train services taking pilgrims to Prayagraj were still running, after earlier reports that they had been halted due to crowding in the city.
"My family got scared, so we're leaving," attendee Sanjay Nishad said.
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