Pahalgam terror attack: Chennai mother recounts miraculous escape with son

Jayashree was with her son barely five minutes away from the Baisaran meadow when sounds of gunshots shattered the serenity of the Valley on Tuesday afternoon as terrorists affiliated to The Resistance Front shot dead 26 people in the South Kashmir tourist hotspot.

“We landed in Pahalgam yesterday and took a pony ride around 12.45pm,” she told media persons. They were about to reach Baisaran meadow “in just five minutes”, roughly five kilometres from Pahalgam. The mother-son duo landed in Srinagar from Chennai on April 19.

“Our pony rider was telling us that, in about five minutes, we were about to see the most beautiful spot in India that resembles Switzerland,” the mother said. “By then, some people were running with their ponies saying, ‘Go back, go back, terrorist attack. We heard around five gunshots. We were scared. It was like a stampede.”

Their pony rider sped from the spot with them, she said.

“It was a miraculous escape...we feel like we were on the brink of death and came back to life,” she said.

Though there are no casualties from Tamil Nadu, chief minister MK Stalin said a delegation led by IAS officer has been sent to Jammu and Kashmir to help with the rehabilitation efforts.

People of Tamil Nadu affected by the terror strike can reach the state government through the helpline numbers 011-24193300 and 9289516712. A helpline centre in Delhi has also been set up at Tamil Nadu house.