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.

Organisers of India's Kumbh Mela have prepared to host a staggering 400 million devotees at the six-week Hindu festival that starts Monday and is expected to be the largest human gathering in history.

Several thousand people from South Africa are expected to flock to the Maha Kumbh Mela being held at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh before it officially ends on February 2.

A large fire broke out at a Hindu religious festival, the Maha Kumbh Mela, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, but the blaze was quickly brought under control and no injuries were reported,

The sheer scale of the Hindu festival makes it a disaster waiting to happen. From new underwater drones to AI surveillance, here’s what’s being done to avoid deadly crushes.

India began on Monday its Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, which is expected to draw more than 400 million visitors to the northern city of Prayagraj over six weeks, making for the largest gathering of humanity in the world.

Days before India started its mammoth Kumbh Mela festival, a video showing preparations for a nighttime light show surfaced in social media posts that falsely linked it to the six-week Hindu event. The video was in fact originally published by a US-based drone show company and shows a Christmas celebration.

A fire broke out at the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, following a cylinder blast at one of the camp areas. The incident occurred on [insert date], sending panic through the crowd at the massive religious gathering.