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At least 13 people were killed after the bus they were traveling in fell into a ravine in a remote region of northern Pakistan, officials said.
Out of the deceased, 9 were Chinese nationals, 2 were Pakistani soldiers, a further 28 Chinese citizens were injured.
In a July 14th statement emailed to Al Jazeera, the Pakistani foreign ministry said the bus fell into the ravine in the Khyber-Paktunkhwa province following a mechanical failure resulting in leakage of gas that caused a blast.
“According to preliminary reports, nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis lost their lives. Chinese workers and accompanying Pakistani staff were proceeding to their work place for an ongoing project,” said the statement.
“The local authorities are providing all possible assistance to the injured.”
A senior administrative officer of the Hazara region told Reuters news agency the bus was carrying over 30 Chinese engineers to the site of the Dasu dam in Upper Kohistan.
Despite the official claim from Pakistan, China condemned the blast and asked Pakistan to thoroughly investigate the attack, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
Beijing asked Pakistan to protect the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing.
In its statement, the Pakistani foreign ministry said it “is closely in contact with the Chinese Embassy for coordination and facilitation”.
Pakistan and China are close friends and iron-brothers,” said the statement.
“Pakistan attaches great importance to safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan.”
In a statement, the Chinese embassy said that “a certain project of a Chinese firm in Pakistan suffered an attack, which caused the deaths of Chinese nationals”.
It urged Chinese firms to strengthen their security procedures.
The Dasu hydroelectric project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65bn 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 and other projects for several years in the region where the blast took place.
It should be noted that, a few days ago, in the same province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but in Kurram district, another terrorist attack was carried out.
Two Pakistani Frontier Corps soldiers were killed in a clash with militants.
The border guards were looking in the mountains for the employees of a telecommunications company who were abducted on July 6, who were engaged in the installation of antenna mast structures for cellular communications.
From the moment of the abduction, the militants even managed to demand a ransom for the hostages.
On July 12, the military managed to find one of the abducted who was shot and get on the trail of the terrorists.
In the ensuing clash, three militants were eliminated. The search for terrorists continues. According to the authorities, ISIS militants are behind the kidnapping of signalmen and the murder of the military.
In April, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide blast at a luxury hotel hosting the Chinese ambassador, who was unhurt, in southwest Balochistan.
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Pakistan said NO to the yankees military, now they send there “terrorists”. China must send there military to protect Chinese personel.
How many times does it need to be emphasized that the Americunt losers and their vassals are desperately trying to derail the CPEC project and Pakistan’s close ties with China. The CIA is directly training the Uighur terrorists in Syria under the guise of East Turkestan liberation army. The Chinese are peaceful people and don’t realize how evil the Americunts and Zionists are. This was bomb blast to stop the ONE BELT project and the Bhasha Dam, which the Dasu project near Chilas on the KKH (Karakorum Highway) is part of. China needs some inflict some pay back, it did nothing when its embassy in Belgrade was deliberately bombed and diplomats killed. Now there is open season on the Chinese. It would be best if China left the failed Pakistan shithole and concentrated on strengthening the Sino-Iran alliance which is far more powerful, rich and stable.
Get out of Iran you Shia terrorist.Soon arabs,Baluchis and Kurds will kick out Shia terrorist from all middle east
?? Why so angry at Shia? Are you liberating Palestine? As long as Iran supports Hamas and Hezbollah, every sunni should support Iran
Short on diapers for your underground shelter? Start running shekeltard I hear air raid sirens
I dunno about this one. The article says “leakage of gas that caused a blast”. And the truck just looks wrecked but not by an explosion.
China shares a border with Afghanistan and has just signed another big deal with Iran, who also shares a border with Afghanistan. The Chinese also have significant trading hubs in Pakistan which shares a border with Afghanistan. The Chinese have a well known plan to develop corridors (in addition to the Belt and Road projects) for supply of Iranian oil and gas through Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US and UK occupation of Afghanistan and thier destabalisation of parts of Pakistan prevented this. Now the occupation of Afghanistan is almost over and China and Iran are shaking hands on new deals and bringing stability through regonising the place of the Taliban, engineers and civil engineers are planning road routes linking China and Iran through Afghanistan and Pakistan (also giving China a fast road land bridge to the Persian Gulf). Just as China moves its key people forward they have an “accident”. Yea really buying this was an accident – way too much for the US/UK/Israel tripartate to loose if Iran and China get to link up in this way. Lets watch for more accidents and landslides and fires and stuff to effect Chinese and Iranian projects inside Afghanistan in the months and years ahead.
Couple years ago, cartels in the area of “golden triangle” kidnapped some civilian Chinese and execute then brutally. The Chinese government send its specialist teams and military police and completely wiped out local cartels and established long term patrol mechnism in the area. I guess they will use the same way to deal with the terrorists in Pakistan.
Good news lol
US will destroy China and this is just a warning.
Chinese should vacate Tibet Inner Mongolia and xinxiang
Chinese should invade Hindooo shitland and burn down New Delhi, but take with sanitiser and lots of toilet paper.
HA HA HA HA HA, You drunken Turd – This warning from you? LoL. USA a has been empire. Barefoot Turban heads defeated them in Afghanistan. China will eat them for breakfast
American tranny navy is returning to san francisco, your home town. They need to resupply on buttplugs and rainbow flags.
China asks Pakistan to severely punish the attackers.
China urges Pakistan to ‘severely punish’ attackers behind bus blast that has killed over a dozen Chinese engineers and wounded another 18.
This was the work of that Hindu cockroach and troll who infects this site!!!!