More than seven people were killed and around 10 injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in northern India on Wednesday, as tens of millions gathered to take a holy bath in the river in Prayagraj city.

Drone footage showed millions of devotees, shoulder to shoulder, arriving in the pre-dawn dark at the temporary township in Prayagraj for the holy dip at the confluence of three rivers, the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati.

Video and photos after the stampede showed bodies being taken away on stretchers and people sitting on the ground crying, while others stepped over a carpet of discarded clothes, shoes, backpacks and blankets left by people as they tried to escape the stampede.

A Reuters witness saw several dead bodies as he followed dozens of ambulances rushing towards the river bank where the incident occurred.

“More than seven people have been killed in the stampede and around 10 others injured,” said an official who did not want to be named, because he was not authorised to speak to the media.