Peshawar:
At least eight men and women, such as at least six Chinese nationals and one Pakistani soldier, have been killed in a blast targeting a bus in a remote area of northern Pakistan on Wednesday, various sources told Reuters.
It was not promptly clear if the blast was the outcome of a roadside device or some thing planted inside the bus.
“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 situation of anonymity.
He stated six Chinese nationals, a paramilitary soldier and one regional have been killed. Several men and women have been injured, he stated.
A senior administrative officer of the Hazara area told Reuters the bus was carrying more than 30 Chinese engineers to the website of the Dasu dam in Upper Kohistan.
The Dasu hydroelectric project is portion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment program below 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 building workers have been working on the Dasu hydroelectric project and a number of other individuals for a number of years in the area exactly where the blast took spot.
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