At least ten people, including at least six Chinese nationals and one Pakistani soldier, were killed in a blast targeting a bus in a remote region of northern Pakistan on Wednesday.
“The blast sparked a fire in the engine, plunging the vehicle into a ravine killing 10 people, including six Chinese nationals,” a senior local administration official told AFP, requesting not be named.
A further 31 Chinese nationals were injured in the blast in the Upper Kohistan district, he added.
However, it was not immediately clear if the blast was the result of a roadside device or something planted inside the bus, multiple source told Reuters.
“The bus plunged into a deep ravine after the blast and caused heavy losses. One Chinese engineer and one soldier are missing. The rescue operation is launched and the entire government machinery has been mobilised to rescue the injured by air ambulance,” a senior government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The Dasu hydroelectric project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment plan under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative that is aimed at connecting western China to the Gwadar sea port in southern Pakistan.
Chinese engineers along with Pakistani construction workers have been working on the Dasu hydroelectric project and several others for several years in the region where the blast took place.