[Source: Reuters]

Millions of devout Hindus thronged the northern Indian city of Prayagraj on Thursday for the Maha Kumbh festival, a day after dozens died in a stampede at the largest gathering of humanity in the world.

Train and bus stations in the city saw a surge in crowds as people continued to arrive for the festival, although some devotees remained nervous after the deadly crush.

Krishna Soni, a student from the western state of Rajasthan’s Bikaner city, and his family of eight linked themselves together with string to ensure they would not lose each other in the massive crowd.

“We are walking very carefully and trying to avoid the crowded areas,” he told Reuters.

Police said 30 people were killed in Wednesday’s stampede and 60 were injured. Sources said the death toll was more than 50 and Reuters counted at least 39 bodies in the morgue, but police said not all may have been killed in the stampede.

“Many people die here everyday due to various reasons so those extra dead bodies could have been from other cases… The injured are totally out of danger,” senior police officer Vaibhav Krishna told Reuters.

While authorities said there was just one stampede on Wednesday, witnesses said there had also been a second pre-dawn incident in another part of the festival area on the same morning.

Ambulance driver Karan Kumar told Reuters that police had called him between 3.30 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Wednesday morning and he transported nine people to hospital, who all “looked dead”.

A police guard who did not want to be identified said a second stampede had occurred but “help reached in time” and the situation was contained. Senior police officers did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment. Sachchidanand Pandey, spokesperson for Kumbh police chief Rajesh Dwivedi, said there was no second stampede.