'We thought no one would survive...': Rajouri residents recount horror as intense Pak shelling kills 5

Kashmiri villager Mohammad Rafiq displays shrapnel of a shell as he sits near a crater outside his damaged house following overnight shelling from Pakistan.

Five persons, including a senior Jammu and Kashmir government official and a two-year-old girl, were killed as intense mortar shelling and drone strikes by Pakistan hit Jammu region early Saturday.

Residents of Jammu city and other major towns of the division woke up to air raid sirens and deafening sounds of explosions around 5 am, while the border residents spent a sleepless night in the wake of intense shelling from across the border.

Locals in Rajouri recalled the terrifying moments when they witnessed shelling from across the border.

"Around 5:30 in the morning, 10-12 of us were here. At first, firing was going on. Then suddenly, we saw that all the glass was broken and there was smoke all around. We are somehow safe. There's a shell lying right in the middle of the road here... About 10-12 projectiles have fallen here since morning... Some of my relatives came here from Thandi Kassi village to be safe. But then, shelling started here too. Now tell me where should we go?” Jawed, a local from Rajouri, told ANI.

#WATCH | J&K | Jawed, a local from Rajouri, says, "Around 5:30 in the morning, 10-12 of us were here. At first, firing was going on. Then suddenly, we saw that all the glass was broken and there was smoke all around. We are somehow safe. There's a shell lying right in the middle https://t.co/jugXNkPX2Tpic.twitter.com/mtH8QjwCYp

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ANI (@ANI) May 10, 2025

Another local from the area, Neena Begum said: "We have suffered a lot, but we are safe fortunately... When the shelling started, we thought that no one would survive..."

#WATCH | J&K | Neena Begum, a local from Rajouri, says, "We have suffered a lot, but we are safe fortunately... When the shelling started, we thought that no one would survive..." https://t.co/jugXNkPpdlpic.twitter.com/kIW21did5h ANI (@ANI) May 10, 2025

According to defence officials, Pakistan's blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continued along the western borders on Saturday.

“Pakistan’s blatant attempt to violate India’s sovereignty and endanger civilians is unacceptable. Indian Army will thwart all enemy designs,” they said.

Raj Kumar Thapa, Additional District Development Commissioner, Rajouri, and his two staff members were seriously injured when an artillery shell hit his official residence in Rajouri town, the officials said.

They were rushed to the Government Medical College where Thapa succumbed to his injuries, they said.

Condoling Thapa's death,Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a post on X, "Devastating news from Rajouri. We have lost a dedicated officer of the J-K Administration Services. Just yesterday he was accompanying the Deputy CM around the district and attended the online meeting I chaired.

"Today the residence of the officer was hit by Pak shelling as they targeted Rajouri town killing our Additional District Development Commissioner Sh Raj Kumar Thappa. I’ve no words to express my shock & sadness at this terrible loss of life. May his soul rest in peace." Two more persons -- two-year-old Aisha Noor and Mohd Shohib (35) -- were killed and three others were injured in Pakistani shelling near an industrial area in Rajouri town, the officials said.

According to the officials, a 55-year-old woman named Rashida Bi lost her life when a mortar shell hit her house at Kanghra-Galhutta village in Mendhar sector of Poonch district.

In another incident, Ashok Kumar alias Shoki, a resident of Bidipur Jatta village, was killed in cross-border firing along the International Border in the R S Pura sector of Jammu district, they said. Three more persons were also injured in intense shelling in Poonch and were evacuated to a hospital, they said, adding that a local journalist was injured in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri.

Several persons were injured when artillery shells and suspected drones hit some residential areas in Jammu, including Rehari and Roop Nagar in Jammu city.

"On May 9, from about 2100 hrs, Pakistan opened fire on BSF posts in Jammu sector without any provocation. BSF is responding in commensurate manner causing widespread damage to posts and assets of Pakistan Rangers along the International Border. Our resolve to protect India's sovereignty is unshaken,” BSF Jammu said in a post on X.

The fresh strikes followed after Pakistan launched a wave of drone attacks targeting 26 locations in India -- from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat -- for the second night on Friday.

The locations included Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota and Jammu in J-K, Ferozpur, Pathankot and Fazilka in Punjab, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan, and Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala in Gujarat.

Tensions between India and Pakistan soared significantly after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages.