Pahalgam terror attack: People were being killed 10 minutes from where we stood, says Kolhapur survivor
Kolhapur: Ten minutes, that's how long the "memories of a lifetime" lasted for this group of tourists from Kolhapur. Ten minutes is also what saved their lives.
Having spent a lovely afternoon in the picturesque Baisaran Valley on Tuesday, Sudhesh Saphale, his relatives and friends were preparing for the next adventure when gun-totting militants unleashed terror on tourists in Pahalgam.
"Seventeen of us had travelled to Kashmir. Pahalgam was our third stop. Around 2.30pm, we were just leaving the location when we heard the bullets. People were getting killed just 10 minutes away from where we stood. We rushed with our belongings and frantically started looking for our bus. We stayed in the bus till the evening as there was a total lockdown immediately after the attack," said Saphale, a contractor from Gargoti town in Kolhapur.
"We approached the local authorities, and they helped us get back to Srinagar. We then spoke to the Kolhapur collector. Subsequently, a Maharashtra official contacted us. We are now safe," said Saphale on Wednesday.
by Taboola
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Meanwhile, 48 tourists from Solapur's Madha tehsil, who reached Kashmir on Tuesday, have now decided to return. Sarhad, a Pune-based NGO, is helping them return. "We were planning to visit Pahalgam after Gulmarg and Sonmarg. We faced many difficulties getting here. There was a road cave-in and a heavy traffic jam. That is why we reached Srinagar late on Tuesday. We have now decided to return," said Rahul Petkar, a resident of Madha.
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