Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Apr 24 (PTI) A couple from Maharashtra can’t thank their stars enough as they had left the terror-affected site in Pahalgam just a few minutes before the tragedy struck and got saved by a whisker.

They also thanked local people in Pahalgam for helping them quickly move away from the site and reach their hotel safely.

Terrorists opened fire in a meadow near the tourist hub of Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 persons, mostly tourists.

Sakshi and Krishna Lolge, hailing from Nanded in Maharashtra, were also visiting Pahalgam around the same time.

“We visited the spot where the terror attack took place, but left the place just 15-20 minutes before the incident. We heard the sound of firing after we moved a little away from the place,” Sakshi said in a video shot by the couple after they reached their hotel from the incident site.

Some locals helped them to move away quickly from the place, she said.

“If there was no support from local people, who helped us to move away fast, we would have not been able to make this video. The local people helped the tourists a lot,” Sakshi said.

Her husband Krishna said their pony ride operators quickly rushed them down the hill.

“Our tour co-ordinators were in constant touch with us. The local people took us to our hotel immediately. We came to know at the hotel that the terror attack had taken place. We saw a large number of security personnel moving towards the attack location,” he added. PTI AW GK