36 reported dead as stampede mars India's Ganges festival

Pilgrims cross the river Ganges

A local Indian official resigned Monday after a stampede at Indian's rail station a day earlier left 36 people dead among tens of millions of Hindu pilgrims flocking to the banks of the Ganges River for the world's largest religious gathering.

The stampede occurred on Sunday evening as Thousands of pilgrims entering the station in Allahabad, the scene of this year's Kumbh Mela festival, broke through temporary barriers and crowded onto already busy platforms, railway authorities said.

In addition to the 36 killed in the ensuing crush, more than 30 people were injured, according to North-Central Railway, which operates the station.

Local television footage showed bodies, many of them covered in white sheets, lying on the floor in the railway station, with wailing relatives sitting nearby. Luggage, shoes, slippers and other belongings also lay strewn across the ground.