Officials had been preparing for months for the world’s largest religious festival, with around 400 million Hindu pilgrims expected to take part

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.

At least seven people have died and dozens of others have been injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious festival in India, a gathering where millions take part in rituals and offer prayers.