Several people were feared dead and many more injured in a stampede early Wednesday as tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to take a holy bath in the river at the massive Maha Kumbh festival in northern India 's Prayagraj city,

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.

Some of the largest casualties caused by stampedes at religious congregations over the recent years include the deadly stampede that occurred last year on July 2 during a 'satsang' by self-styled godman, Bhole Baba, in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, which claimed 121 lives, most of whom were women.

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.

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.

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.