'Ruko, udhar firing shuru hai': How wait for horses saved 28 Pahalgam tourists from terrorists

Pahalgam attack claimed lives of 26 people

A group of 28 tourists from Kolhapur, Sangli, Pune and Ratnagiri districts in Maharashtra were saved from the Pahalgam terror attack as they engaged in a 15-minute negotiation with horse owners in Kashmir. Their wait for horses delayed their trip to the Baisaran Valley on Tuesday afternoon, where 26 people were shot dead by terrorists.

The group had been vacationing in Kashmir since April 17 with plans to explore the Baisaran Valley. Now back home, they recount how they narrowly missed becoming victims in the terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives.

“If not for the bargaining and the wait for the horses, we would have been at the very spot when the attack occurred. We might have been on that list of casualties,” One of the tourists, Anil Kurane from Kolhapur, told TOI.

"The horse owners had initially demanded Rs 3,200 per head. We spent nearly 15 minutes bargaining with them. An additional 15 minutes was spent getting all 28 horses together. Finally, when we sat on the horses and had covered barely 500 metres of the 2km ride, our local driver came running. He was screaming: ‘Ruko! Udhar firing shuru hain, aage mat jao (Wait! There is firing going on at the site. Do not go there)'," Kurane added.

Another member of the group, Shivprakash Chougule, recalled, “We had a hotel booking in Pahalgam for Tuesday night. But since it was in a forested area, we didn’t feel secure and decided to shift to Srinagar instead.”

The bodies of the 26 people killed in the Pahalgam terror attack were flown to their respective hometowns on Wednesday. The deceased included Indian tourists from different states and a Nepali national. After tributes were paid by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Srinagar, the remains were sent off in coffins aboard over 50 special flights arranged to carry both the victims and 123 accompanying family members back home.