A bus transporting Chinese engineers was targeted in a bomb blast in Upper Kohistan, killing at least 13 people and injuring over 39 others, local sources told WION.
It was unclear whether the explosion was caused by a roadside device or anything planted inside the bus at the time.
Seven Chinese nationals, two paramilitary troops, and four locals were killed, according to the sources.
“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 said on condition of anonymity.
The bus was transporting more than 30 Chinese engineers to the Dasu dam site in Upper Kohistan.
The Dasu hydroelectric project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment plan aiming at connecting western China to the Gwadar sea port in southern Pakistan as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
For several years, Chinese engineers and Pakistani construction workers have been working in the location where the explosion occurred on the Dasu hydroelectric project.
(With inputs from agencies)