Fire at India’s Maha Kumbh Mela festival contained, no one injured

By Reuters
January 20, 2025
Police officers and volunteers salvage belongings of the devotees after a fire erupts in makeshift tents during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela, or the Great Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, India, January 19, 2025. — Reuters
Police officers and volunteers salvage belongings of the devotees after a fire erupts in makeshift tents during the ongoing "Maha Kumbh Mela", or the Great Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, India, January 19, 2025. — Reuters

NEW DELHI: A large fire broke out at a Hindu religious festival, the Maha Kumbh Mela, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, but the blaze was quickly brought under control and no injuries were reported, officials said.

The fire spread to at least 10 tents being used to host the Mela before emergency teams managed to contain it, District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mander told reporters.

“At 4:30 pm today, we received information about a fire ... Fire brigade, police teams and organising teams rushed to the spot,” he said, adding that the situation at the event was now normal.

The six-week-long Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher festival, began in India last Monday, and is touted as the world’s largest gathering of humanity.

More than 400 million people are expected to arrive in the city of Prayagraj over the course of six weeks to take a dip at the confluence of three sacred rivers - the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati.