Dozens of people were killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela Hindu festival in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday morning, as they made their way to bathe in sacred waters. It is not the first time that deaths from such crushes have taken place at the religious event, with 42 people having been similarly killed on a train platform in 2013.

The Maha Kumbh Mela takes place once every 12 years and is one of the world’s biggest spiritual gatherings. This year marks a particularly important event, as the grand Kumbh Mela only takes place once every 144 years, according to a specific alignment of Jupiter with the sun and the moon. It will take place over 45 days in the city of Prayagraj, at the site where the Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati rivers meet. This is important as Hindu pilgrims wash in the waters of the rivers in order to cleanse themselves of their sins. Other Kumbhs are held in the cities of Haridwar in the state of Uttarakhand, Nashik in Maharashtra and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.

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