The chaos erupted suddenly-one moment, devotees were waiting patiently for their sacred dip; the next, screams filled the air as bodies collapsed under the crushing weight of the surging crowd.
"For a moment, I thought I was dead," said Alpona Sen, a devotee from Kolkata, recounting the harrowing stampede that unfolded near pillar number 157 in the Kumbh area.
The stampede began around 2 a.m. when lakhs of devotees surged toward Sangam Nose, unaware that many had been sleeping overnight at the site to secure a prime spot for the Mahurat bath at 3 a.m.
"We had been waiting since last night," said Rajesh Tiwari from Varanasi. "Some of us were resting, while others were changing clothes after an early dip.
Suddenly, people started pushing forward, not realizing there were people lying down. That's when the chaos started."
The sudden movement triggered panic, and within moments, barricades collapsed as people tripped and fell.
"It all happened so fast. Whoever fell down couldn't get up," said Rekha Devi from Bihar. "People were screaming, running, pushing. Some got trampled. It was terrifying."
At the emergency ward of Central Hospital, distraught families searched for missing loved ones.
Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Kanpur, moved frantically between wards. "I have been looking for my nephew for hours. We got separated when the crowd surged.
His phone is switched off, and I have no idea where he is. I just hope he is safe," he said, his voice trembling.
A woman cradling her injured child outside the hospital described the mercilessness of the stampede. "There was nowhere to go.
Some people who pushed us were laughing while we begged them for kindness toward the children," she said, tears streaming down her face.
"We Were Trapped"-Survivors Speak
The stampede occurred amid a sea of tightly packed pilgrims along the 12-km stretch of riverbanks designated for Maha Kumbh bathing.
Sarojini from Karnataka, still in shock, wept outside the hospital. "We came in a batch of 60 people in two buses. In our group of nine, we suddenly found ourselves trapped.
There was pushing, and we fell down. The crowd was uncontrollable."