A man was tapping into his sense of adventure and joy when he went ziplining with his family. In an attempt to document the moment, he pulled out his phone to start recording himself flying through the air. What was a thrilling, joyous moment quickly morphed into something entirely different when the man realized he was also recording a massacre.
Rishi Bhatt from Ahmedabad in Western India, was ziplining over Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow in Kashmir on April 22, 2025, when four men with guns killed 26 tourists.
There are gunshots in the background of the video.
The video, obtained by NDTV, initially shows Bhatt laughing and smiling. In the video, you can hear gunshots in the background. At first, Bhatt doesn’t hear the gunshots or doesn’t recognize them for what they are. It isn’t until he reaches land that his joy is replaced with terror. He can see tourists falling to the ground after being shot. When it was time for him to come out of the harnesses, Bhatt worked to get his family to safety.
Bhatt rushed his wife and son to safety.
“I took my wife and son and started running,” he told ANI. “We saw people hiding at a spot which was like a pit, so they could not be spotted easily. We hid there, too. When the firing stopped a little after 8 to 10 minutes, we started running toward the main gate … The firing resumed and four to five people were shot. Around 15 to 16 tourists were shot in front of us. When we reached the gate, we saw the local residents had already left. One pony guide helped us to leave the place,” he said.
The attacks may have been based on religion.
Bhatt believes the zipline operator may have worked to coordinate the attacks. “Nine people ziplined before me,” Bhatt said. “But the operator did not utter a word. When I was sliding, he spoke, and then the firing started. So, I have my suspicions about that man.” Bhatt believes the attackers targeted people based on their religion. “I found out that men in two families ahead of us were asked their religion and shot in front of my wife and son. My wife and son were screaming.”
The assailants reportedly oppose India’s control over Kashmir.
Officials stated that the shooting was a terrorist attack. They believe the perpetrators were militants who oppose India’s control over Kashmir. Kashmir and New Delhi have been in conflict with each other since 1989, the Associated Press notes. In the days since the attack, India has launched a nationwide manhunt for the shooters.
