A chilling account of survival has emerged from the terror-struck hills of Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 innocent lives were lost in a brutal attack. Prasanna Kumar Bhat, a software engineer from Karnataka, shared his harrowing experience on X, detailing how he, his family, and nearly 40 others narrowly evaded death on April 22.
"We lived through a nightmare that turned paradise into a blazing inferno, staining its serene beauty with blood," Bhat wrote, describing the ordeal in a heartfelt post.
According to him, it was a combination of divine grace, sheer luck, and the quick instincts of his brother—an Indian Army officer—that saved their lives. "Thanks to my brother’s presence of mind, and perhaps a bit of fate, around 35 to 40 lives were spared that day," he added.
Bhat recounted that he, his wife, his brother, and his sister-in-law had reached the idyllic Baisaran Valley that afternoon, their trip delayed by two days due to adverse weather. Their peaceful afternoon shattered around 2:25 pm when the first gunshots cracked through the air.
"A moment of stunned silence followed. Children, oblivious to the horror unfolding, continued to revel in what they thought was just another carefree picnic," he wrote.
Moments later, the horror became clear. Two bodies lay in sight, and Bhat’s brother immediately recognized the grim reality—it was a terrorist assault. "Then all hell broke loose," Bhat recalled. "Gunfire erupted in bursts, panic rippled through the crowd, and terrified screams filled the valley."
As panic-stricken tourists instinctively rushed toward the main gate—where terrorists lay in ambush—Bhat and his family realized they had to act differently. "Seeing an armed attacker closing in, we fled the other way. By some miracle, we spotted a gap under a fence. One by one, people squeezed through and sprinted in the opposite direction," he recounted.
His brother swiftly organized the escape, guiding them downhill along a muddy, slippery slope where a stream offered partial cover from gunfire. "Many stumbled and fell, but the primal instinct to survive kept them moving," Bhat shared.
He described how he and his immediate family eventually huddled in a narrow pit beneath some trees, a few hundred meters away, silently praying to make it out alive. "For an hour, we lay hidden—shaking, desperate, thinking of our young children and parents back home—unsure whether to run or stay put."
The echoes of gunfire continued until about 3:00 pm. A helicopter's distant thrum around 3:40 pm announced the arrival of security forces. By 4:00 pm, Indian Army special forces secured the area and began rescuing survivors.
"Even now, the sound of those gunshots rings in my ears, and the terror still knots my stomach," Bhat confessed. "This experience has etched a scar in my soul—a grim reminder of the dark underbelly hidden beneath Kashmir’s breathtaking beauty."
He ended his post with a heartfelt prayer: "May no one ever endure such horror. May justice find the innocent lives lost that day." Expressing immense gratitude, he credited his brother and the Indian Army for giving him and his family the chance to return home safely to Mysuru—and live to tell their story.