Amol Rajan has dubbed the Kumbh stampede “deeply sad” and “utterly terrifying” after being caught up in the incident at India’s Kumbh Mela festival.
The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a judicial probe into the deaths of at least 30 people in stampedes at the world’s largest religious festival, where millions of Hindus gathered for a ritual bath at the confluence of three sacred rivers.
State authorities confirmed that nearly three dozen people had been killed in the crowds while an additional 60 had been left injured.
Rajan, broadcaster and former editor at The Independent, attended the festival and has been sharing updates with his Instagram followers in the wake of the shock tragedy.
“Thank you so, so much for all the exceptionally kind messages, checking if we’re ok. We are - but there were countless utterly terrifying times this morning, and they weren’t over quickly,” he told wellwishers.
“Everyone is deeply sad about the loss of life here. Those desperate pilgrims,” Rajan added.
“This Reel is a tiny, tiny snapshot of the biggest festival/carnival/pilgrimage/event/gathering in human history: these Naga Sadhus are naked spiritual warriors.
“Today was a huge day for them - and hundreds of millions more, including us. The whole thing is unimaginable, or a fever dream - except it really happened.”
The broadcaster concluded: “Thank you again for all your messages. It means more to us - me and the heroic crew - than you might imagine.”
The pre-dawn crowd crush took place about 1km from the confluence in Prayagraj, where the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers meet.
Distraught families gathered outside temporary medical centres, searching for missing relatives, while emergency teams attended to the injured and police struggled to regain control over the crowds.
Wednesday (29 January) marked a particularly significant bathing day, with officials anticipating a record turnout of 100 million devotees at the pilgrimage site.
The Maha Kimbh Mela, which takes place every 12 years, began on 13 January, with over 400 million people expected to visit before the six-week festival concludes.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath said a separate investigation will be launched into the police lapses after eyewitnesses blamed poor police management for the stampede.
Jagwanti Devi, who was in the crowd with her family of six, told Reuters: "People were asking police to open the barricades to other routes as it was suffocating to stand there in that crowd for almost an hour. We couldn't breathe.
"Then suddenly my mother fainted, and some other elderly people also fainted, which created a commotion. We fell down and many people stepped over us," said Devi, wailing next to the bodies of her mother and sister-in-law at a city mortuary.
