Maha Kumbh stampede: Second crush 3 km away claimed 7 lives

The tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh event in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Wednesday claimed 30 lives. However, there was not one but two stampedes. Seven people died in this stampede which took place hours after after the stampede at the Sangam.

This stampede took place at Jhusi, along the ghat which is 3 km away from the Sangam nose, Hindustan Times reported speaking to Kalpvasi police station circle officer Rudra Kumar Singh.

"Seven people were found dead at the spot at Jhusi due to excessive crowd pressure," the official said.

The Yogi Adityanath government was strangely silent on the second stampede, even when the administration briefed the media about the incident -- several hours aftet it took place.

The briefing on the first stampede was at 7 pm on Wednesday, by district magistrate Mahakumbh Nagar Vijay Kiran Anand and mela DIG Vaibhav Krishna. At this time, they admitted that 30 people died in the stampede at the nose of the Sangam between 1 am and 2 am on Wednesday.

Before the Yogi govt took cognisance of the loss of lives, both PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah condoled the losses, even as President Droupadi Murmu offered condolences to the families of those injured.

Following the stampede, the UP government sprung to action, scrapping VVIP passes, and entry to vehicles, as part of safety measures.

The opposition, meanwhile, criticised the administration for the organisation, and the Maha Kumbh stampede will likely find mention in the Parliament session as well -- which begins today.