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.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is the second top official after Prime Minister Narendra Modi to offer condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones in the crush. In a post on X, he called the accident in Prayagraj "extremely painful" and expressed condolences to victims' relatives.

More than seven people were killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, in the northern Indian holy city of Prayagraj on Wednesday.