A bus carrying Chinese and Pakistani construction workers on the slippery mountain road in northwest Pakistan falls into Ravine Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, including nine Chinese citizens, officials said.
At least 36 people were also injured in a clear accident in the Kohistan District of Khyber Province Pakhtunkhwa, said Arif Javed, a representative of the district commissioner.
The incident occurred on the wet road after last night but Pakistani officials were still investigating and the Chinese Embassy said in a statement of a bus was attacked.
Chinese engineers and construction workers help Pakistan build dams in Kohistan. Mr. Javed said Pakistani and Chinese construction workers were on their way to the project location when the accident occurred.
ASIM Abbasi, an assistant commissioner in Kohistan, said the authorities believed that the incident was an accident but was investigating whether there were several types of explosions on the bus. He said a gas cylinder might explode and it was possible that explosives were in the vehicle. Explosives are often used by engineers in construction projects.
“So far, we are not sure if there is an explosion on the bus but the bus falls into a ravine and it seems like it’s an accident,” he said.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry in a statement said the bus “fell into a ravine after a mechanical failure, resulted in a gas leak which caused an explosion”.
China calls it ‘attack’
The Chinese Embassy in a statement called the “attack” incident.
“Recently, our workers in business on certain projects in Pakistan were attacked and had suffered death and injury,” said the statement. “We have told Chinese citizens in Pakistan to avoid adventure outside unless needed by work or business and pay for their main care.”
In Beijing, Minister of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian said China “Shocked and condemned a bomb attack in Pakistan Khyber Province Pakistan.”
“We grieve over Chinese and Pakistani personnel who were killed in the attack and expressed sympathy to the grieving family and who was injured,” Zhao said on the direction of the daily news.
“We have demanded Pakistan to the bottom of the incident, capturing and punishing attackers as soon as possible, and sincerely protect the safety of personnel, institutions and Chinese projects in Pakistan,” Zhao said.
Kamran Bangunh, Government spokesman for Khyber Province Pakhtunkhwa, said the helicopter transported critically injured people to hospital for care.
Bangash said the investigator would immediately notify the media about the cause of the incident. His comment came after local media quoted an unnamed source to report that there was an explosion on the bus carrying Chinese and Pakistan construction workers and security officials.
