Fifteen persons including seven domestic tourists were wounded in a powerful grenade explosion in south Kashmir tourist resort of Pahalgam Thursday afternoon.

The grenade exploded behind a local hotel in Pahalgam town. Doctors in Pahalgam have described the condition of one persons as critical and have arranged for his transportation to Srinagar city for better medical care and attention, said Sheikh Owais, deputy inspector general of police, south Kashmir range.

Owais along with other senior civil and paramilitary officers reached Pahalgam to take stock of the situation.

It must be recalled that Pahalgam hill resort is presently thronged by both domestic and foreign tourists as the mercury in the plains shot up.

The  Hindu pilgrims to the Himalayan Cave shrine of Amarnath also use Pahalgam as the base camp for the annual pilgrimage beginning June 11.