Prayagraj Mahakumbh Stampede | At mortuary, wait and despair: ‘Can’t go back without her — or her body’
Thirty people died and at least 60 were injured in a pre-dawn stampede Wednesday at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj where hundreds of thousands gathered to take a dip at the Sangam.
Deepali Srivastava consoles Saumya, who lost her mother Neelam Srivastava in a stampede at Maha Kumbh Mela on Mauni Amavasya in Prayagraj on January 29, 2025. (Express photo by Chitral Khambhati) It is 7:41 pm and Naresh Kumar from Amritsar has been searching the entire Maha Kumbh area for his wife since 2 am when the deadly stampede took place. He has now finally arrived at the mortuary in Prayagraj with his 6-year-old son, hoping his worst fear is proved false.
Kumar says he checked 35 bodies inside the mortuary. None were of his wife. With his legs finally giving up, he sits outside clutching her Aadhaar card. “I cannot return home without her, or her body.”
There are many like him outside the mortuary of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College — husbands, daughters, sons, daughter-in-law, all here as a last resort after a fruitless day-long search for their loved ones. Those wanting to check the bodies are taken inside the gates. Many are forced to continue their search.
Officials stand with an ambulance inside the mortuary at Motilal Nehru Medical College after a stampede at Maha Kumbh Mela on Mauni Amavasya in Prayagraj. (Express photo by Chitral Khambhati)
People look for their belongings after the stampede at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. (Source: Reuters)
Relatives of the dead victims are waiting for the bodies outside the postmortem house at SRM Medical College in Prayagraj. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav)
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