Pyres lie ready for a mass cremation in New Delhi as the world’s deadliest Covid-19 strain runs rampant in India.
Angry families of the dead are blaming the government for allowing a giant religious festival to go ahead.
The Kumbh Mela, on the banks of the Ganges river, takes place every 12 years and brought together more than five million Hindu devotees.
Barely anyone wore masks in the dense crowds which gathered for ritual bathing.
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When it started a fortnight ago, police admitted they were powerless to enforce coronavirus rules.
Oxygen supplies are so low in the capital that many hospitals have had to shut their gates to admissions.
Resident Sairi, 41, told the Mirror that she and her son Veeir, nine, have Covid but are unable to get help despite his severe breathing problems caused by the terrible air pollution.
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She said: “We have been left to die.”
India’s heart-rending crisis follows similarly awful scenes in Brazil.
Both countries have hardline nationalist leaders who refused to enforce lockdown measures and mask-wearing.
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(Image: REUTERS)
One New Delhi-based lawyer said: “Everybody is blaming political rallies, and the Kumbh Mela was irresponsible. It’s criminal.”
The World Health Organisation called the situation “beyond heartbreaking” and is sending 2,600 extra staff and supplies.