Pahalgam attack survivor recalls horror, shares how his army brother saved lives during the massacre: 'Gun shots still echo...'

A family trip to the picturesque Baisaran valley in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam turned into a nightmare for Prasanna Kumar Bhat and his family as terrorists opened fire at the meadow, leaving 26 dead. In a detailed social media post, Bhat recalled the horror and shared how he and his family along with 35-40 others survived the attack due to his quick-witted brother, who is an Indian army officer. 

Prasanna Kumar Bhat recalled that the group had postponed the Pahalgam trip by two days due to bad weather, only to find themselves struggling to escape the deadly terror attack on April 22. Bhat, his wife, his brother and sister-in-law reached Baisaran valley on the afternoon of April 22. 

As the family was busy enjoying the trip, a gunshot was fired around 2:25 p.m. "We heard the first 2 gun shots loudly around 02:25 pm. It was followed by a pin drop silence for a min and everyone was just comprehending what had happened and the kids playing all around were still enjoying the best picnic of their life.I'm sure this was the first time most of them heard the loud and terrifying sound of a shot fired from AK-47. 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", he recounted. 

Bhat further revealed that the entire meadow was fenced and there wasn't much room to escape. However, most of the crowd ran towards the gate where the terrorists had already positioned themselves. 

"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", he said. 

April 25, 2025

Spotting a terrorist running towards them, Bhat's brother, an army officer, assessed the situation. As the firing was focussed around the main entrance gate, he directed the group (his family and 35-40 others) to run in the opposite direction. 

"We found a narrow opening under a fence and slid through,” Bhat said. Furthermore, the officer urged the crowd not to bunch up, directing them down a slippery, muddy slope, away from the sight of terrorists. 

Around 3:40 p.m., as Bhat described, they heard the sound of helicopters, signalling that security forces had arrived. By 4 p.m., the Indian army secured the area and rescued the survivors. 

"We were still in shock, brains and senses were numb at this point while only the gunshots and the horror running in loop in our mind. We saw the people affected covered in blood being carried down and a range of emotions and thoughts and still unable to believe the events unfolded in the last 2 hours", Bhat recalled.