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

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took holy dips in sacred river waters in the northern city of Prayagraj on Wednesday as he joined millions of people at the Maha Kumbh Mela, a week after dozens died in a stampede at the event.

PM Narendra Modi took a holy dip in the Triveni Sangam at Maha Kumbh Mela 2025. The Indian Prime Minister, dressed in a saffron-coloured top and counting prayer beads in his hands, waded out thigh-deep to the meeting point of the Ganges,

The man appears in a silhouette after rising from the river. His dreadlocked hair is flicked backwards, sending a stream of water in a clockwise swirl.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a holy dip at Sangam on Wednesday after he arrived in Prayagraj as part of his visit to the Maha Kumbh. After arriving at Prayagraj, PM Modi, who was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath,