At least 30 people died and several were injured in a crush at the religious festival in India this week.

The Hindu festival that turned deadly in northern India on Wednesday is a religious gathering with deep spiritual meaning for devotees who come by the millions to take a cleansing dip in waters they consider sacred.

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