More than 10 million devout Hindus seeking absolution from their sins took a dip in holy waters in northern India during a span of four hours on Wednesday, authorities said, as they braced for millions more to swarm the site of the Kumbh Mela.

Probe ordered after 30 deaths at world’s largest religious festival in India - Indian authorities have released an official statement on the death toll but it is expected to rise

The world's largest religious gathering, the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India, turned deadly Wednesday, with officials confirming at least 30 deaths and 60 people injured in a stampede on the biggest day of the festival.

A video spread online shows an annual stone-pelting ritual in northern India, contrary to claims by social media posts that presented it as Hindu pilgrims attacking each other at the Kumbh Mela mega-festival.

Officials had been preparing for months for the world’s largest religious festival, with around 400 million Hindu pilgrims expected to take part

Drone video from India’s northern city of Prayagraj showed thousands of Hindu devotees at the “Sangam” river confluence to mark Mauni Amawasya, the most auspicious day of the “Kumbh Mela”, or Pitcher Festival.

As the Amrit Snan began at the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela on Maghi Purnima on Wednesday morning, lakhs of people reached the Triveni Sangam ghat in Prayagraj to take the holy dip on the special occasion.

Arunachal Pradesh Governor Lt. General KT Parnaik (Retd.) and First Lady Anagha Parnaik visited Prayagraj as part of a four-day trip to Uttar Pradesh, engaging in key religious and cultural activities.

President Droupadi Murmu took a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam here on Monday and said the huge gathering of faith and belief at the Maha Kumbh is a living symbol of India's rich cultural heritage