Grieving families in India are cremating their loved ones while others are caring for their injured relatives in hospitals a day after a stampede.

The driver was believed to have a pistol in their vehicle when law enforcement first made contact, police said.

Dozens of people were killed in a pre-dawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India yesterday as tens of millions of Hindus gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of a six-week festival.

Authorities had expected a record 100 million people to visit Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh, or "festival of the Sacred Pitcher", on Wednesday.

Between 90 to 100 million pilgrims had congregated to take ritual baths in sacred rivers at a festival in northern India.

People were trampled as pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the world’s biggest gatherings, gathered where the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers meet, officials said.

Officials have just announced that 30 people were killed and 60 were injured during the crush at Kumbh Mela festival. Of those people, 25 have been identified, officials say. People that were involved in the incident include those who travelled from the states of Gujarat and Assam to attend the festival, the officials add.

From lazy strolls through ancient alleys to sacred rituals along the Ganges, Varanasi in winter promises memories of a lifetime.

At least 17 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at India's Maha Kumbh festival, the world's largest religious gathering, a doctor at a government hospital said, as tens of thousands of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred river waters during the Hindu event.

After a crowd crush killed dozens of people at the world's largest religious gathering, questions have been raised about security and crowd control at massive events in India.

Hindu pilgrim Parvati Gupta braved jostling crowds to be at the world’s largest religious festival in India but will leave with injuries that will keep her