Deaths as stampede breaks out at India Hindu festival

More than seven people have been killed and around 10 injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela or Great Pitcher Festival in north India's Uttar Pradesh state, said an official, as tens of millions attended the gathering.

Drone footage showed millions of people, shoulder to shoulder, arriving in the pre-dawn dark to mark the Maha Kumbh Mela on Wednesday.

Video and photographs 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 belongings left by people as they tried to escape the stampede.

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

Officials said an initial stampede which occurred around 1 am local time was "not serious", but its cause was unclear.

However, witnesses said people trying to escape it were caught in another stampede at an exit. They then returned towards the pontoon bridges, looking for another way out, only to find it had been closed by authorities.

"I saw many people falling and getting walked on by the crowd...many children and women getting lost, crying for help," said Ravin, who gave only his first name and had travelled from the financial capital Mumbai for the festival.

A Rapid Action Force (RAF) — a special unit called in during crisis situations — had been deployed to bring the situation under control, and rescue efforts were underway, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and called for "immediate support measures", reported news agency ANI.