A suicide attack struck a convoy transporting Chinese engineers in Pakistan today. The incident occurred Bisham area of Shangla district, as the convoy travelled from Islamabad to a worksite camp at Dasu.
“Sadly, the attack resulted in the deaths of five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver,” confirmed regional official, Khalid Gandapur.
Earlier in the week, Baloch militants had raided Pakistan’s second-biggest naval base, PNS Siddique, in Turbat. The naval base housed Chinese drones.
China’s embassy demanded investigations into the attack.
Authorities have secured the scene and initiated rescue efforts. The remaining personnel in the convoy were safe.
After the blast, the vehicle with the Chinese passengers fell into a gorge and caught fire. A rescue team then reached the spot and put out the fire.
Dr Rehmat Ali, a spokesperson at the Dasu project, told Dawn.com that the Chinese nationals were identified as four men and a woman, adding that their bodies were being taken to Islamabad.
In July 2021, 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, were killed when a coach carrying them to an under-construction tunnel site of the 4,300-megawatt Dasu hydropower project fell into a ravine in the Upper Kohistan area after an explosion.
Although the Foreign Office had initially termed the incident an accident, the government later said traces of explosives had been found, with the information minister at the time saying “terrorism could not be ruled out”.
March 26,2024
Source: Express Tribune and other news sites