AT LEAST 17 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India today, a doctor at a government hospital said, as tens of thousands of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred river waters during the Hindu event.

The death toll was given by a doctor working at a government hospital in Prayagraj city, where over 30 of the injured — five in serious condition — were brought for treatment. The medic spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with the media.

The stampede happened when pilgrims rushing to a sacred river confluence tried to jump barricades erected for a procession of holy men, Uttar Pradesh state’s top elected official, Yogi Adityanath, said in a televised statement.

Indian authorities were yet to release casualty figures, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged the loss of lives. Mr Modi called the incident “extremely sad” and extended his condolences.

Today was a sacred day during the six-week festival and authorities in Prayagraj city were expecting a record 100 million devotees to engage in a ritual bath at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

Hindu tradition holds that a dip at the holy site can wash away past sins and end the process of reincarnation.

The main draw is the thousands of ash-smeared Hindu ascetics who make massive processions toward the confluence to bathe.

Millions continued to throng the 15-square mile pilgrimage site despite the stampede, even as police urged them over megaphones to avoid the confluence. Mr Adityanath urged people to instead take baths at other riverbanks.

“The situation is now under control, but there is a massive crowd of pilgrims,” he said, adding that 90 million to 100 million pilgrims were at the site.

“About 30 million people had taken the holy bath by 8am Wednesday.”

Distressed families lined up outside a makeshift hospital, desperate for news of their missing loved ones. Clothes, blankets and backpacks were strewn around the site of the stampede.

“Suddenly there was pushing in the crowd and we got trapped. A lot of us fell down and the crowd went uncontrolled,” the Press Trust of India news agency quoted pilgrim Sarojini as saying. “There was no chance for escape. There was pushing from all sides,” she added.

The Maha Kumbh festival, held every 12 years, started on January 13. Authorities expect more than a total of 400 million people to throng the pilgrimage site during what is the world’s largest religious gathering.

Nearly 150 million people have already attended, including the likes of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah, plus celebrities such as Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

A sprawling tent city has been built on the riverbanks to accommodate millions of visitors. It has roads, electricity and water, 3,000 kitchens and 11 hospitals.

About 50,000 security personnel are stationed in the city to maintain law and order and manage crowds and more than 2,500 cameras monitor crowd movement and density so officials can try to prevent such crushes.

The 45-day festival is a significant cultural event for India’s Hindus, who make up nearly 80 per cent of the country’s more than 1.4 billion people. It’s also a prestige event for Mr Modi, whose ruling Hindu chauvinist Bharatiya Janata Party’s boasts of promoting Hindu cultural symbols.

The Maha Kumbh festival has been marred by stampedes in the past. In 2013, at least 40 pilgrims were killed in a stampede at a railway station in Prayagraj.

In July, at least 116 people died, most of them women and children, when thousands at a religious gathering in northern India stampeded at a tent camp in Hathras town.