"Didn't Look Back": Maharashtra Couple Who Escaped J&K Terror Attack

A difference of 20 minutes. That's what saved them, says the family from Maharashtra who survived the terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, the worst attack on civilians in years. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decried the "heinous act" in the summer retreat of Pahalgam, which lies about 90 kilometres by road from the key city of Srinagar, pledging the attackers "will be brought to justice".

"This incident happened when we had just left the place of the incident. We could hear the sound of firing for a long time. Everyone was trying to escape from the place. We were 20 minutes away from the actual spot. We did not look back as we just wanted to escape from there," the man, visiting from Nagpur, told news agency ANI. 

#WATCH | Anantnag, J&K | A tourist couple from Maharashtra's Nagpur who were present at the spot of the terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam, say, "This incident happened when we had just left the place of the incident. We could hear the sound of firing for a long time.… pic.twitter.com/yXF3JLnSMz

— ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2025

The exit gate was small, only 4 feet, and there were a lot of people, said the man as he ran with his wife and a son.

"I was worried about the security of my wife and son. My wife suffered a fracture in her leg," said the man. 

The woman, who was on a hospital bed, said people shouted "firing ho rahi hai (firing is on)" and they kept running.

"People called out that firing is taking place, just move on. People were coming from behind and pushing. We did not look back at all. There were children as well. We were finding it difficult to get out," said the woman. 

A tour guide told AFP he reached the scene after hearing gunfire and transported some of the wounded away on horseback.

"I saw a few men lying on the ground looking like they were dead," said Waheed, who gave only one name.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that "the attack is much larger than anything we've seen directed at civilians in recent years".

"This attack on our visitors is an abomination," he said in a statement. "The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman and worthy of contempt."

PM Modi, who is in Saudi Arabia, dialled Amit Shah and asked him to visit the site. The Home Minister arrived in Srinagar a little after 9 pm.

"Those involved in this dastardly act of terror will not be spared, and we will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences," Mr Shah had earlier said in a statement.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, called the killings "heartbreaking".

"The whole country is united against terrorism," he said in a statement, urging the Centre to "take accountability".

(With agency inputs)