India, Jan. 29 -- Jai Prakash Soni's voice quivered as he recounted the heartbreaking loss of his mother, Sheela, in the stampede that struck Sangam Ghat in Prayagraj on Wednesday morning. The tragedy unfolded in the early hours when a crowd of devotees was caught in a panic, leading to chaos and loss of life. Jai Prakash, who had managed to rescue his elderly father, wife, and two children, could not save his mother, who was trampled in the crush.

While consoling his sobbing father and two children as they waited at the Central Hospital, he recalled, "My mother fell as someone pushed from behind. I managed to pull my family to safety, but by the time I could search for my mother, she had already been crushed by the crowd. Six of us came...