Distressing visuals doing the rounds on social media showed several women pleading for help.
"Please save my husband," a woman's bone-chilling wails echoed through the picturesque valley of Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam after terrorists opened fire at tourists this afternoon. Twenty-six people have died in the attack, sources said. The death count, however, can change as several tourists were rushed to hospitals with serious injuries.
Distressing visuals doing the rounds on social media showed several women pleading for help. "We were having bhelpuri (a snack made of puffed rice) when a man came and shot my husband," said one of them, as another, with blood splattered on her face, looked helplessly at the man recording the video.
The terrorists came out of the woods and opened fire at the tourists who were picnicking and taking pony rides in Baisaran, also called the 'mini Switzerland' of Pahalgam.
Several people were seen lying motionless on the ground. A visibly shaken child was also seen with the group of tourists who survived the attack.
Updates on the Pahalgam attack here.
Another woman, standing next to a severely injured man, pleaded, "Please save my husband. For god's sake, save him".
The heartbreak continues as another cry for help was heard, "Please, someone take him to the hospital. Please, please help." She was standing next to an injured man with his shirt soaked in blood.
Among the dead were tourists from Maharashtra and Karnataka. A realtor from Shivamogga district in Karnataka was allegedly shot dead in front of his wife and son. Two tourists - identified as Dilip Disle and Atul Mone - from Maharashtra have lost their lives, confirmed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Pahalgam is a prime tourist location in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, calling the perpetrators of the attack "animals", said the attack was "larger than anything we have seen directed at civilians in recent years". He also said that arrangements were being made at the hospital for the injured.
An anti-terror operation has been launched to neutralise terrorists, said Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the government's resolve to fight terrorism is "unshakable", held a telephonic conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and asked him to visit the Union Territory and take all suitable steps. Mr Shah has left for Srinagar where he will hold a key meeting.
