Kohistan: According to local sources, a bomb blasted targeting a bus carrying Chinese engineers, killing at least 13 people and injuring over 39 others. It is not known whether an explosive device left on the roadside caused the explosion or if something was stowed inside the bus at the time. Four locals and seven Chinese nationals died in the attack, according to reports.
A Chinese engineer and a soldier are missing after the bus plunged into a deep ravine after the blast, government officials said on condition of anonymity. A rescue operation has been launched and the entire government has mobilized to rescue the injured by air ambulance. The bus was transporting more than 30 Chinese engineers to the Dasu dam site in Upper Kohistan.
According to the Chinese foreign ministry, China has asked Pakistan to thoroughly investigate Wednesday’s bus blast that killed at least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals and two Pakistani soldiers. Zhao Lijian, the spokesman for the foreign ministry, said Beijing condemned the blast, expressed condolences, and asked Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects. The Chinese engineers, along with the dead and injured, were taken to the Regional Health Centre in Dasu, which is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the blast site.
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The Dasu hydroelectric project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment plan aimed at connecting western China to the Gwadar port in southern Pakistan as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese engineers and Pakistani construction workers have been working in the area where the explosion occurred on the Dasu hydroelectric project for several years.
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