How 40 lives were saved in Pahalgam

Watch how software engineer Prasanna led tourists to safety during the Pahalgam terror attack.

Transcript

00:00A software engineer from Karnataka lived through horror and quick thinking saved 40 lives.

00:05This is his story.

00:07Meet Prasanna Kumar Bhatt.

00:08He, his wife and family were in Pahlgaon's Baisaran Valley enjoying a sunny day.

00:12Little did they know, death was closing in.

00:15Around 2pm, they strolled away from the main gate after a pony ride and a cup of kahva.

00:19That decision would save their lives.

00:21Then, gunshots.

00:22Two sharp cracks broke the piece.

00:24Confusion, screams, children still panicking, adults frozen in terror.

00:30The first instinct, run.

00:32Bhatt, his family and other tourists hid behind a mobile toilet 400 metres away.

00:37Two bodies already lay still on the ground.

00:39His brother, an army officer, realised instantly, this is a terrorist attack.

00:43And he knew, running toward the entrance would be a death trap.

00:47Quick thinking kicked in.

00:48He spotted a tiny gap under the fence where a pipe ran through.

00:52He let 35 to 40 people through it, away from the shooting.

00:55Slipping, falling, scrambling, they slid down a muddy slope shielded by a small stream from

00:59the terrorist's line of sight.

01:01Every second counted.

01:0240 minutes later, the sound of helicopters filled the air.

01:06Army special forces rescued them.

01:07But the horror was far from over.

01:09The gunshots still echo in our ears.

01:11Bhatt wrote.

01:12The Pahlgaon attack killed 26 innocent people.

01:15India's deadliest terror attack since Bulwama in 2019.

01:18The Pahlgaon attack killed 26 innocent people.