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.

A Sadhu or Hindu holy men touches feet seek blessings from Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath Peeth of Uttarakhand, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati at Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and

Grieving families in India are cremating their loved ones while others are caring for their injured relatives in hospitals a day after a stampede

It was not immediately clear what triggered the panic at the festival where devotees from across India had congregated to bathe at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

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.

Hindu devotees and mystics have gathered in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival, which is the largest religious congregation on Earth.

Millions continued to throng the site even as police urged them to avoid the area. Deadly stampedes are relatively common around Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas.

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 30 people were killed and over 30 have been injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the world's biggest gatherings that occurs every 12 years.