At least 30 people were killed and dozens more were injured early Wednesday after millions of Hindu pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh Mela, a huge festival in the Indian city of Prayagraj, rushed to bathe in holy river waters on what is considered one of the most auspicious dates in the Hindu calendar.

       As pilgrims rushed to the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers, which Hindus consider sacred, thousands of people who were lying or sitting on the river banks were trampled, safety barricades broke, and fences were pulled down, according to government officials and witnesses. Others were trying to escape after bathing, adding to the chaos.

       New York Times journalists saw people stretched out on the ground, their bodies and faces covered, and emergency personnel carrying people away on stretchers and into ambulances.

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       People trying to cross a temporary pontoon bridge near where the stampede took place.Credit...Atul Loke for The New York Times

       Government officials released casualty figures more than half a day after the stampede happened between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. local time. Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, said on Wednesday evening that he would start a judicial inquiry to find out how, despite heavy precautions, accidents such as these could occur.

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       Expressing his condolences, Mr. Adityanath said that the state government would give the families of those who had died about $29,000 per victim.

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