Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is the second top official after Prime Minister Narendra Modi to offer condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones in the crush. In a post on X, he called the accident in Prayagraj "extremely painful" and expressed condolences to victims' relatives.

Multiple people were killed in a crowd crush at the world’s largest religious gathering in India early Wednesday, as tens of millions of devotees went to bathe in a river on one of the most sacred days of a Hindu festival.

More than 100 people were killed in a stampede in northern India in July 2024 following a Hindu religious gathering, making it one of the deadliest such accidents in years. Thousands had gathered at a makeshift tent for an event led by a Hindu preacher in Uttar Pradesh state.