2 weeks Ago By Mashable News Staff
Amid nationwide mourning for the Pahalgam terrorist attack victims, a survivor has come forward with a gut-wrenching story of survival. Prasanna Kumar Bhat from Mysuru was one of the hundreds of tourists who were soaking in the beauty of 'Mini Switzerland' - the Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, Kashmir. Taking to X, he shared how a retreat with his wife, brother and sister-in-law turned into a nightmare.
The attack left 26 tourists dead. All of them were non-Muslim men who were shot dead after the terrorists asked about their religion. Yet another survival story from the tainted Baisaran valley in Pahalgam.
We survived the horror to tell the story of what can only be described as monstrous act and paint the heavenly beauty blood-red with hellfire. By the grace of the God, luck, and some quick thinking from..
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com/00ln2y0DJo — Prasanna Kumar Bhat (@prasannabhat38) April 25, 2025 "We had postponed our trip by 2 days due to bad weather to cover Pahalgam in our 8 day trip and visit the place which is described by many as paradise in Kashmir on the fateful day. Little did we know the ramifications of that one decision," Bhat wrote saying that terrorists opened fire around 2:25 pm IST, roughly half hour after Bhat's family reached the meadow. What followed was continuous gunfire from the rifles of the terrorists who, according to Bhat, were waiting at the entrance to the meadow.
"I'm sure this was the first time most of them heard the loud and terrifying sound of a shot fired from AK-47," Bhat wrote about the first shots that were fired. "We ran to the nearest cover point behind the mobile toilet that was installed on the side some 400 mts from the entrance. I could see two bodies lying on the ground already.
My brother knew immediately that this was a terrorist attack. Then the hellfire broke, the gunshots came in bursts and chaos ensued. There was cacophony of the crowd screaming out loud and running for life.
" What one cannot see clearly in the videos is that the entire meadow region is fenced, so there is not much room to escape. So most of the crowd ran towards the gate for escape where the terrorists were already waiting, like sheeps running to the tiger. We could see a terrorist.
..— Prasanna Kumar Bhat (@prasannabhat38) April 25, 2025 Bhat revealed that his brother, who is in the Army and was on a leave, helped save 35-40 more people with his quick thinking as all of them ran in direction opposite to which the terrorists were approaching them.
Bhat said that his brother and his wife took cover near the mobile toilet and he guided dozens of tourists to the opposite direction. Then they escaped through the fence which had a slight opening due to a pipeline. ALSO SEE: Pahalgam Ponywallah Who Died Attempting To Snatch Gun From Terrorists Gets Tearful Adieu; Internet Salutes It was terrifying knowing no place is safe right now and anything could happen in the next moment.
Just imagine the situation of having kids and elderly people with you and even worse scattered in the crowd and you don't know their location and whether they are safe or not...
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com/NFxEHtShv0 — Prasanna Kumar Bhat (@prasannabhat38) April 25, 2025 "Most of the crowd ran towards the gate for escape where the terrorists were already waiting, like sheeps running to the tiger. We could see a terrorist approaching in our direction, so we decided to run the other way and fortunately we found a narrow opening under the fence and most of the people hiding slide through the fence and started running the other way," he wrote. "He took us along with others, through the fence and asked us not to bunch up.
He guided the people to run in the downward direction to move away from the place where the firing was happening," Bhat continued. ALSO SEE: Indian Navy Officer Killed In Pahalgam Terror Attack A Week After Wedding; Wife Bids Emotional Goodbye Bhat revealed that the horror continued for about half hour until 3 pm. His brother somehow managed to alert the security forces station in Pahalgam and the army headquarters in Srinagar.
Meanwhile, Bhat said the four of them hid in a pit under the trees few hundred metres from the meadow. He even took a picture with his wife, capturing the terror on their faces. Bhat said he heard the first sound of helicopters around 3:40 pm, signalling the nightmare was finally over.
"It's beyond words and expressions to describe the horrific act and the monsters who took the life of those innocent people in front of their loved ones. The gun shots still echoes in our ears and the terror still makes my gut wrench. This will leave a permanent scar, a memory that cannot be erased of what Kashmir's beauty hides underneath," he wrote.
(Image: X@prasannabhat38).
