Nine Chinese among 13 killed in Upper Kohistan bus blast

Nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistani nationals – including two FC personnel – were killed while multiple were injured when a passenger coach was struck with a blast in Upper Kohistan in the early hours on Wednesday.

The victims encountered the bomb on a vehicle heading to the China-invested Dasu hydropower project in the morning.

The passenger coach of foreign construction workers was departed from the Bursin labour camp while a loud explosion rocked the bus during the mid-journey.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), in a statement, said the bus plunged into a ravine "after a mechanical failure, resulting in leakage of gas that caused a blast".

"Further investigations are underway," read the foreign affairs ministry's statement.

The bus was carrying over 30 Chinese engineers to the site of #Dasu dam in Upper #Kohistan.
Two paramilitary security men with the engineers also died pic.twitter.com/YBzM2yumOP

— GLOBAL NEWS NEXUS (@globalnewsnexus) July 14, 2021

Meanwhile, the bodies and injured have been shifted to RHC Dasu. The condition of some of the injured is said to be critical while the provincial government had also called for an air ambulance to fasten the rescue.

Security teams along with the bomb disposal squad have also rushed the site of the blast and an investigation into the blast is underway.

While the Pakistani side is investigating the matter, the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad has asked Pakistan to make an all-out rescue effort and treat the injured at all costs, strengthen security for Chinese institutions, projects and personnel, and find out the truth of the incident as soon as possible.

The Pakistani military has organized rescue efforts right away, sending helicopters to transport the wounded.