Chennai, Apr 24 (PTI) It was a shopping spree at the picturesque Aru, close to Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, that saved a group of 68 tourists from Tamil Nadu from getting caught in the terror attack on April 22.

The tourists, who returned from Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, said they had a providential escape as their trip to Pahalgam in Anantnag district was delayed due to shopping at Aru.

Also Read | Operation Zeppelin: On Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Order, Mossad Hacked Sam Pitroda's Home Servers, Tracked Movement of Rahul Gandhi To Protect Gautam Adani After Hindenburg Report.

"We were shopping for handicraft products at Aru where we spent over half an hour beyond our schedule. As a result, our visit to Pahalgam got delayed and this saved us our lives," a woman tourist said.

A phone call from their tour operator informing them about the terrorist attack on tourists and asking them to immediately return to their hotel rooms, made them abandon their plan to visit Pahalgam on the fourth day of their trip to Jammu and Kashmir, another tourist said.

Also Read | India To Soon Launch Safety Assessment Rating System for Trucks and Commercial Vehicles To Improve Road Safety, Says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

"Hearing the news, a member in our group suffered a cardiac arrest and the helpful local driver rushed him to a hospital," he said.

The man identified later as Chandru of Madurai, got a stent and his condition was stable, he added.

Among the 68 people, 30 were from Madurai, and they were all on a five-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir. Of them 26 were women. They managed to remain safe. They boarded a flight on Wednesday evening and returned today.

They thanked the Indian Army, the central and state governments for their support and safe return.

"We went there very happily. But after we heard the tragic news, we had to return home. The officials have arranged to drop us in Madurai," another tourist said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)