Nearly 40 people were feared dead and at least 10 injured in a crowd crush at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India, where tens of millions of pilgrims gathered for bathing on the most auspicious day of the six-week Hindu festival.
Drone video showed millions of devotees, shoulder to shoulder, arriving before dawn broke on Wednesday at a temporary township in Prayagraj at the confluence of three rivers, the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati.
Video and photos after the crush showed bodies being taken away on stretchers and people sitting on the ground crying, while others stepped over a thick layer of discarded clothes, shoes, backpacks and blankets left as people tried to escape.
Almost 40 bodies were taken to the local Moti Lal Nehru Medical College hospital mortuary, three police sources told news agency Reuters, although the government has yet to officially announce casualty numbers.
“More bodies are coming in. We have nearly 40 bodies here. We are transferring them out as well and handing over to families one by one,” a source said.
Senior police officer Vaibhav Krishna said the force could not give an official number because they were busy with crowd management.
The cause of the crush was unclear. Some witnesses spoke of a huge push that caused devotees to fall upon each other, while others said closure of routes to the water brought the dense crowd to a standstill and caused people to collapse from suffocation.
“There was commotion, everybody started pushing, pulling, climbing over one another. My mother collapsed … then my sister-in-law. People ran over them,” said Jagwanti Devi, 40, as she sat in an ambulance with the bodies of her relatives.
“I saw many people falling and getting walked on by the crowd … many children and women getting lost, crying for help,” said Ravin, a devotee who gave only his first name. He had travelled from India's financial capital of Mumbai for the festival.
A Rapid Action Force – a special unit called in during crisis situations – was sent to bring the situation under control and undertake rescue efforts, officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and gave “directions for normalisation of the situation and relief”, said Indian news agency ANI.
Mr Adityanath appealed to people to take a dip at the nearest riverbank rather than trying to reach the confluence, which is believed to absolve devotees of their sins and confer salvation from the cycle of birth and death.
“All of you should follow the instructions of the administration and co-operate in making arrangements,” he said on X, as people continued to bathe in other parts of the sprawling temporary city.
The world's largest congregation of people, the Hindu festival has already hosted gigantic daily crowds, with nearly 148 million people attending since it began two weeks ago.
They ranged from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah to Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and celebrities such as Coldplay's Chris Martin and actress Dakota Johnson, whom Indian media reported had reached Prayagraj on Tuesday. Mr Modi was also expected to visit the festival next month.
Authorities had expected a record 100 million people to throng the temporary township in Prayagraj on Wednesday for the event, considered the most auspicious day due to an alignment of celestial bodies for the first time in 144 years.
Authorities had undertaken several measures to cater to the enormous crowd, including increased security and medical personnel, and special trains and buses. AI software was also used to manage the numbers.
A similar crush broke out on the most auspicious day of the festival when it was last held in 2013, resulting in the deaths of at least 36 pilgrims.
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Wed, Aug 29:
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- Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
- UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs
Thu, Aug 30: UAE v Nepal; Hong Kong v Singapore; Malaysia v Oman
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
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1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
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Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
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The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
