Amid reports of deaths in the crush, seers and authorities have urged people to bathe at their nearest river banks and not head to Sangam.

But religious leader Premanand Puri of Panchayati Akhara Shri Niranjani - one of the influential holy sects participating in the festival - has blamed the administration for prioritising VIPs and failing to make adequate arrangements for devotees.

“We all akharas [sects] had demanded that it [the management of the mela] be handed over to the Indian army. If that had been done, I don’t think such a large tragedy would have occurred,” he told ANI news agency.

Meryl Sebastian
BBC News, Kochi

Ritual bathing continues at various sites along the Ganges and Yamuna rivers even as devotees wait to hear from officials about details of the crush.

As of 08:00 India time (02:30 GMT), nearly 28 million pilgrims had performed bathing rituals at the Kumbh Mela today, officials said.

They added that nearly 200 million people have bathed in the river since the beginning of the festival on 13 January.

Eyewitnesses and hospital sources have told the BBC that at least a dozen people have been killed in Wednesday morning's crush at the Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj.

There is, however, still no word from the government on what happened or the number of casualties.

Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Prayagraj

A healthcare worker has told the BBC that the death toll in the crush is likely to be more than a dozen people.

The worker, who did not want to be named, reported seeing several bodies at the site of the accident.

Meryl Sebastian
BBC News, Kochi

Despite the morning's crush, bathing continues at several places along the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

Official data from the Uttar Pradesh government's information department says more than 17 million pilgrims had taken a dip today by 06:00 India time (00:30 GMT).

Authorities say nearly 200 million pilgrims have performed the bathing ritual at the Kumbh Mela since it began on 13 January. The festival concludes on 26 February.

Officials say they expected up to 400 million people to attend the 45-day festival.

Image source, Reuters

It's been more than six hours since a crush took place at the Kumbh Mela but we still haven't heard anything from officials about the scale of the accident and what led to it.

The BBC's Vikas Pandey reports on what is happening now on the ground - thousands of people are still entering the entry point where he is at, he says, but people are also asking why this crush occurred and when they will get clarity from officials.

We're still waiting for an official briefing with more details on what happened during the crush.

Meanwhile, in his first comments since the morning, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked pilgrims at the Kumbh Mela to follow instructions issued by officials at the site and cooperate with them.

"Take a dip at the nearest ghat [river bank], do not try to go towards the Sangam Nose," the chief minister posted on X.

"People are bathing peacefully at all the ghats of Sangam. Do not pay any attention to any rumours," he added. It's not clear what rumours he was referring to.

Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Prayagraj

I am back at one of the main entry points and ambulances are zipping past constantly.

I have counted 10 of them in just five minutes.

It’s not clear why this is happening.

When the crush happened, Poonam Singh was separated from her family members, some of whom are asthmatic. She is still waiting for news of them.

It has just gone 08:00 in the morning local time in Prayagraj, northern India, so if you are just joining us let's bring you up to date with what we know so far:

• Several worshippers are feared dead and many more are injured after a crush at the Kumbh Mela festival in northern India - although officials are yet to confirm how many casualties there are
• The accident is believed to have happened when people who were sleeping by the riverbanks in Prayagraj were trampled on by other pilgrims who had taken a dip in the holy waters
• Officials had said up to 100 million people were expected to attend the biggest bathing day at the festival
• The biggest draw of the day - the Shahi snan or the royal bath - that sees thousands of ash-smeared ascetics taking a plunge into the water at the confluence of some of India's most sacred rivers has been cancelled by officials for now
• But despite the famous bathing ritual being suspended by organisers, tens of thousands are still trying to take the holy dip

Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Prayagraj

Late last night, as we made our way to the festival venue, we witnessed chaos and confusion at many checkpoints.

Many devotees told us they had walked for hours but were not able to get to their destinations due to confusing directions. At several checkpoints, heated arguments took place between police personnel and devotees. At one checkpoint, we even saw some policemen pleading with their colleagues to let them pass through barricades.

Sunil Goswami and Ramji Kar told us last night that they walked for almost an entire day but couldn’t reach their destination.

Neyaz Farooquee
Reporting from Delhi

Wenesday's crush took place near the Sangam Nose - so called because of its shape. It's the most important bathing point at Prayagraj, where the Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet the Ganges. It’s the area where the Hindu sadhus bathe and it’s also a favourite among devotees.

To accommodate the huge crowds, the authorities have expanded the area by reclaiming the river bank to allow more than 200,000 devotees to bathe here every hour - up from 50,000 previously.

Reports say the early morning surge of devotees headed to the Sangam Nose at times appeared to overwhelm the police who have been deployed in large numbers to control the crowds.

Image source, Information and Public Relations Department, Uttar Pradesh

Samira Hussain
Reporting from Prayagraj

Just over two weeks ago I covered the opening of this Kumbh Mela. Back then, I thought there was an incredible number of people that had come to be a part of this religious festival.

But those numbers pale in comparison to how many people I saw at the riverbank today. People seemed to keep coming from so many different directions.

There was a large police presence but at times, they too were overwhelmed by the crowds.

I saw people climbing over barricades or breaking through them altogether.

It's been several hours since news broke of the crush at the Kumbh Mela but there has been no official confirmation about the scale of the tragedy or numbers of casualties.

Mohit Aggarwal/Ankit Srinivasas

A sea of belongings was left behind as people desperately tried to escape the crush at the Kumbh Mela. The BBC's Samira Hussain reports from where the crush started and walks us through what it looks like now.

Samira Hussain
Reporting from Prayagraj

Image source, Getty Images

It was absolute chaos at the river bank. People’s belongings, clothes, shoes, blankets and backpacks were strewn all around. Listless bodies could be seen among the discarded belongings.

There was an information vacuum, no-one knew what had happened or what was going on.

I saw one woman walking in front of a stretcher in tears, clearly bereft. Another man walked beside a stretcher, trying to cover the body with a shawl.

This all happened at the main bathing point. Exactly where officials knew the most number of people would converge especially on this bathing day.

Serious questions will be asked about what went wrong.

As of now, officials are not confirming the number of dead or injured.

Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Prayagraj

An announcement has just been made asking devotees to avoid going to the confluence of sacred rivers to take a dip.

Instead, authorities are urging people to take a dip at several other bathing areas along the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

People have also been asked to not put pressure on the police to try and get to the confluence.

As we reported earlier, tens of thousands of people are still trying to get to the confluence and that might have led to this announcement.

The Shahi Snan - or the royal bath - of the festival and a big draw of the morning has been suspended, according to Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Mahant Ravindra Puri. (Akharas are holy sects.)

"You would've seen what happened in the morning. All of our saints and seers were ready for the holy dip when we were informed about this incident. That's why we have decided to call off our bath," he said.

The ritualistic bathing that sees groups of ash-smeared holy men arrive in colourful processions to Sangam is a huge draw for the pilgrims who come from all over the world to seek the blessings of the holy men.

However, as we reported earlier, tens of thousands are still trying to bathe in the river.

The BBC's Vikas Pandey updates us on what is happening at the Kumbh Mela a few hours after the crush.