(Changes slug adding STAMPEDE) (Reuters) -Multiple casualties were feared after a barrier broke at a Hindu religious festival, the Maha Kumbh Mela, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday,

(Reuters) - Multiple casualties were feared after a stampede-like incident broke out at a Hindu religious festival, the Maha Kumbh Mela, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, India's The Hindu newspaper reported early hours, citing news agency PTI.

A stampede on Wednesday (Jan 29) at the world's largest religious gathering in India killed at least 15 people, with many more injured, a doctor at the Maha Kumbh festival told

According to the Indian government, some 400 million people were expected to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela, the most important religious event in Hinduism, held this year in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26.

Inspired by stories of families separated among the millions celebrating the weeks-long Maha Kumbh Mela, old Bollywood films often featured plots in which siblings got lost at the Hindu festival and were only reunited decades later.

Multiple casualties were feared after a stampede-like incident broke out at a Hindu religious festival, the Maha Kumbh Mela, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, India’s The Hindu newspaper reported early hours, citing news agency PTI.

A crowd crush has injured several people at the world’s largest religious festival in India, organizers reported Wednesday.