Tourist Filming Himself on a Zipline Unknowingly Captures Chilling Footage of Massacre in India That Killed 26

• A tourist filming himself while ziplining in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow reportedly unknowingly recorded parts of the April 22 terror attack, which killed 26 people and injured dozens in Kashmir, India
• In an interview, Rishi Bhatt said that wasn’t aware of what was going on until midway through the zipline and that he fled with his family to safety after finishing the run
• Authorities described the mass shooting as a terror attack launched by militants who oppose India’s control over Kashmir

A video reportedly filmed by a tourist while ziplining in India has gone viral after they unknowingly captured the recent deadly mass shooting in Kashmir underneath them.

Rishi Bhatt from Ahmedabad filmed himself ziplining over Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow as four men stormed the area and gunned down 26 tourists on April 22, NDTV, ANI News and Hindustan Times reported.

In the footage obtained by the outlets, Bhatt is smiling while filming himself as he takes off ziplining across the meadow. However, during the course, several people on the ground underneath him are seen running away as gunshots go off.

“Firing started when I was ziplining,” Bhatt told ANI News. “After about 20 seconds, I realized that it was a terrorist attack and people on the ground are being killed. I saw 5-6 people getting shot,” he recalled.

Once he reached the other side, Bhatt quickly escaped the area with his family. “I unlatched my belt and jumped down, took my wife and son and started running away,” he said. “We saw people hiding at a spot which was like a pit, so you could not spot someone easily there. We too hid there.”

Authorities described the mass shooting as a “terror attack” launched by militants who oppose India’s control over Kashmir. The four men were confirmed by authorities to be militants fighting Indian rule, The New York Times earlier reported.

Bhatt recalled that the shooting went on for around 10 minutes before pausing, then starting again. “The firing started again and 4-5 people were shot. 15-16 tourists were shot in front of us,” he told ANI News. 

Bhatt believes the shot victims were targeted as “two families were asked their religion and shot.” He said the army responded to the scene around 20 minutes later, per ANI News.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Following the attack, authorities launched a nationwide manhunt for the shooters. Militants in the Indian-controlled Kashmir have been fighting against New Delhi’s rule since 1989, the Associated Press and ABC7 reported. 

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, “I strongly condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. All possible assistance is being provided to those affected.”