The late release of casualty figures at the gathering of millions of people was seen as shielding the political fortunes of a local leader with national aspirations.

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.

PRAYAGRAJ, India — At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India.

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

Videos from the scene showed victims being rushed to ambulances or lying motionless on the ground after a large crowd broke through police barricades.

Tens of thousands of people at a massive religious gathering in India rushed to take a holy bath in the country’s northern Prayagraj city, setting off a stampede early Wednesday that has injured dozen

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.