Pakistan bus blast kills 13 including Chinese; Beijing blames bomb

[RabzonKhan]

Pakistan bus blast kills 13 including Chinese; Beijing blames bomb

Jibran Ahmad Yew Lun Tian


PESHAWAR, Pakistan/BEIJING, July 14 (Reuters) - A blast on a bus killed 13 people in north Pakistan on Wednesday, including nine Chinese nationals in what Beijing said was a bomb attack but Islamabad called a vehicle failure.

Two Pakistani soldiers were also among the dead after the explosion sent the bus over a ravine, local government and police sources told Reuters.

Chinese engineers and Pakistani construction workers have for several years been working on hydroelectric projects as part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative in the western province of Khyber-Paktunkhwa, where the blast occurred.

China's embassy in Pakistan confirmed that nine of its nationals died. Terming the explosion a bomb attack but not giving more details, the Chinese foreign ministry offered condolences and urged both a thorough investigation and protection of its personnel and projects.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said a mechanical failure caused a gas leak which led to the explosion.

However, the province's top police official, Inspector General Moazzam Jah Ansari, earlier told Reuters foul play was suspected. "Looks like sabotage," he said.

A senior administrative officer of the Hazara region, who asked not to be named, said the bus was carrying more than 30 Chinese engineers to the Dasu dam in Upper Kohistan.

People wheel a gurney towards an ambulance outside a hospital in Dasu, after a bus with Chinese nationals on board plunged into a ravine in Upper Kohistan following a blast, Pakistan July 14, 2021 in this still image taken from video. REUTERS/Reuters Tv


BILLIONS OF INVESTMENT

The Dasu hydroelectric project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment plan aiming to link western China to the southern Pakistani port of Gwadar.

"This is clearly an act of terrorism that has been carefully planned and was supported by information," said an editorial in Global Times, a Chinese tabloid run by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, calling it the most serious attack on Chinese nationals in recent years.

Chinese working in Pakistan have been attacked previously, particularly in the south-western province of Balochistan where separatist militants have waged an insurgency against authorities in a state where China develops mines and a port.

The separatists have also attacked the Chinese consulate in the southern city of Karachi. Additionally, Islamist militants have also previously targeted Chinese nationals.

Using an air ambulance, rescuers took the injured, including Chinese engineers, to a hospital in Dasu, about 10 km (6 miles) from the blast site, authorities said.

"Police and the bomb disposal squad are at the site," added regional official Arif Khan Yousufzai outside the hospital, adding that an investigation was awaited to ascertain details.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said it was in close contact with the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, adding in a statement: "Pakistan attaches great importance to the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions."

Reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Syed Raza Hassan in Karachi and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; Adddtional reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Gibran Peshimam and Umar Farooq; Editing by Gerry Doyle, Clarence Fernandez and Andrew Cawthorne

 

[Beidou2020]

This looks like the work of Indian RAW.

 

[RabzonKhan]

It’s too early to point fingers, but one thing is crystal clear, the terrorists will take full advantage of the chaos in Afghanistan.

 

[Dariush the Great]

RIP.

India needs to stop these dangerous games.

 

[alphapak]

You guys don't even have any shame in supporting terrorism against innocent civilians in both India & Afghanistan.

RIP to the innocents.

India has been openly supporting terrorism in Pakistan, it is time Pak paid back with interest.

 

[Vapnope]

You guys don't even have any shame in supporting terrorism against innocent civilians in both India & Afghanistan.

RIP to the innocents.

Take your crocodiles else where. Just recently your sponsored bomb blast killed a 9 years old and his father who was a gardener.

 

[Tornado23]

If this is indeed a terror attack, then God help a certain country...

 

[Robbie]

RIP.

India needs to stop these dangerous games.

I'm sure Khomeini came to you at night and whispered that India was responsible

 

[Pak_Sher]

It’s too early to point fingers, but one thing is crystal clear, the terrorists will take full advantage of the chaos in Afghanistan.

If the borders are sealed then we can minimize terrorism in Pakistan. Now targets in Afghanistan need to be stuck if the terrorists are operating from there

 

[RIP Pak LAW]

Delete this thread.. Already there is one

 

[Windjammer]

According to a report in New York Times.


12 Are Killed in Pakistan Bus Explosion, Including 9 Chinese
At least some of the passengers were engineers traveling to a Chinese-funded hydropower project in the country’s remote northwest.


A bus carrying dozens of construction workers fell into a ravine after a gas leak in the vehicle caused an explosion. The crash killed at least 12 people including nine Chinese, Pakistani officials said.
By Salman Masood and Mike Ives
July 14, 2021Updated 12:00 p.m. ET

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — At least nine Chinese nationals were killed in Pakistan on Wednesday when their bus fell into a ravine after an explosion, officials said.
At least some of the Chinese passengers were engineers working at a hydroelectric project in Dasu, an area in the country’s rural northwest.
Two Pakistani paramilitary soldiers and one Pakistani laborer were also killed, local officials said, and 41 others were wounded.
The exact cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. In a statement, Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry said the bus had fallen into the ravine “after a mechanical failure resulting in leakage of gas that caused a blast.” It said an investigation was underway.


China’s embassy and a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially described the explosion as a bomb attack but later modified their statements to leave open the possibility of an accident. The embassy’s statement called for a thorough investigation and warned Chinese citizens in Pakistan to be vigilant and to go outside only if necessary.
The Dasu Hydropower Project is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global effort to invest in infrastructure that is even greater in scope than the Marshall Plan, the United States’ program to rebuild Europe after World War II.
One Chinese company involved in the project, China Gezhouba Group, could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for another one, China Gansu International Corporation for Economic and Technical Cooperation, said that he had no details about what happened in Dasu.
Pakistan has a complex relationship with China, which has pumped billions of dollars into the country’s infrastructure projects.

12 Are Killed in Pakistan Bus Explosion, Including 9 Chinese (Published 2021)

At least some of the passengers were engineers traveling to a Chinese-funded hydropower project in the country’s remote northwest.

www.nytimes.com

That's the Pakistani mindset for you.

Yea, the Indians are direct descendants of Snow White.

 

[Sifar zero]

Officer martyred in an IED attack near Pasni.
I am trying to get more details.

Officer martyred in an IED attack near Pasni.
I am trying to get more details.

Capt Affan Masood Khan 135L/C ex 63FF embraced shahadat in an IED blast at Pasni.
IED attack by Baloch terrorists.

 

[Village life]

Always blaming others over our own incompetency ,all those who were responsible for security should be sacked and given exemplary punishment, this incident could have been easily averted had they followed SOPs we Pakistanis are so lazy and reluctant in doing our job that we forget each and every incidence after few days and don't bother to look after what would have been done to stop these incidents,this time china is not going to sit quietly and digest the reasons given , it's complete incompetency by the civilians and FC,

 

[Baz2020]

So what do we need to have fool proof security.

Monitor people like crazy. Monitor every phone call. Every Internet request. Cameras everywhere.

When will this shit end?