What was supposed to be just a fun travel memory turned into an involuntary record of horror
A tourist was filming his zip-lining experience in Pahalgam, in the Indian region of Jammu and Kashmir, when a terrorist attack occurred just below him, resulting in the death of 26 civilians.
In the video, the man — wearing a blue plaid shirt, sunglasses, and a helmet — smiles at the camera with a selfie stick, unaware of the chaos on the ground. In the background, gunshots can be clearly heard while dozens of people run in panic.
The video creator, Rishi Bhatt from Ahmedabad, said he only realized what was happening after the ride ended. “I grabbed my wife and child and we started running. We saw people hiding in a ditch, so we went there too,” he told the ANI news agency.
The gunfire lasted between 8 and 10 minutes, according to Bhatt. “When we tried to escape, more shots were fired. We saw several people getting hit. A local guide helped us get out of there. The army was only present in the lower areas; there was no military presence at the site of the attack.”
The massacre took place in Baisaran, known as “Mini Switzerland” due to its beautiful landscapes. Among the victims, 25 were Indian tourists, and one was Nepalese.
The attack was claimed by the Resistance Front, a group with ties to Pakistani militants opposed to Indian control in the region. The escalation of tensions led India to sever diplomatic ties with Pakistan and suspend visa issuance. Pakistan responded by closing its airspace to Indian flights and threatening retaliation if India manipulates water resources in the region.
View this photo on Instagram
Source and images: NY Post / X @kathiyawadiii/ Instagram @swati_maliwal). This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
