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.

It was expected multiple millions of devotees would throng into Maha Kumbh Mela on Wednesday, January 29, on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya. The sacred day turned out to be tragic for many families as a sudden stampede due to the massive influx of lakhs of pilgrims claimed the lives of at least 30 people.

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.