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.

(Changes slug adding STAMPEDE) (Reuters) -Multiple casualties were feared after a barrier broke at a Hindu religious festival, the Maha Kumbh Mela, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday,

At least 30 people died and 60 were injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj early Wednesday morning, just before the crucial ‘Amrit Snan’ on Mauni Amavasya. The massive gathering, expected to draw nearly 10 crore pilgrims,