Six persons, including five tourists from Gujarat, were killed and 20 others injured in a powerful explosion inside a tourist bus outside the famous Shalimar garden in summer capital Srinagar on Sunday afternoon.
Inspector General of Police (Kashmir zone) told rediff.com, "The cause of the explosion is still being ascertained. Three female tourists from Gujarat and a local woman were among the five killed in the explosion. 20 others are wounded."
The injured tourists were immediately taken to Soura Medical Institute and the SMHS hospital in Srinagar.
While four tourists died in the SMHS hospital, one tourist and a local woman succumbed to their injuries at the Soura Medical Institute.
"We were sitting inside the bus when we heard a massive bang and then hell broke loose inside as everyone tried to jump out. I saw bleeding fellow tourists crying for help. There was absolute confusion inside," said Noor-ud-Din, a tourist from Gujarat.
The explosion outside the famous Shalimar garden led to heavy panic in the entire area. Thousands of locals and tourists, both domestic and foreign, throng the garden during the weekend.
Security forces carried out massive searches in and around the Shalimar garden even as forensic teams examined the ill-fated bus to ascertain the cause of the explosion.
The deceased were identified as Amina Bibi, Moosa Bhai, Razia, Rabia, Nusrat Jan and Shazia.
Additional inputs from PTI:
Screams for help and wailing over the dead by tourists filled the air as the bus 'Thunderbird' turned into a pool of blood outside the Shalimar Gardens.
Auto-rickshaw driver Abdul Rashid said he could hear screams for help from inside the bus, which was speeding off towards the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital.
"The window panes were all smashed and I could see blood splashed all over inside the bus," Rashid said.
Five persons, including four Gujarati tourists, were killed and 19 injured in the blast.
The scene inside the bus was more horrifying.
"People were writhing in pain. I could see part of a brain spilled over the floor of the bus," said a security official, who was among the first to reach the spot after the blast.
At the three major hospitals of the city, shrieks and screams of victims and their relatives drowned every other voice around.
"Why did they target us? What have we done," asked a victim, who was undergoing treatment at SMHS Hospital. She pointed towards a young boy who had suffered eye injuries and another girl who was unable to speak due to the trauma.
The local people were the first ones to come forward with help.
"I told the driver to take the bus straight to hospital instead of transferring the injured to other vehicles as it will save precious time," said Ghulam Muhammad, a roadside vendor.
He said Kashmiris can best understand the sufferings 'as we have ourselves been victims for the past 17 years.'
However, people associated with tourists are worried over the attack as they fear tourism in the Kashmir valley getting affected.
"Tourist arrivals had started picking up this year... But I think we might come back to square one after this attack," said Mohammad Yaqoob, a houseboat owner.
Last year, militants carried out a series of grenade attacks on tourists from May to July in which several tourists were killed and scores of others injured.
The attacks led to tourists choosing other places over Kashmir. Although the arrivals were substantial this year, the government and other agencies concerned played down the vibrancy in tourism for the fear of attacks from militants.
More from rediff