• 28 injured airlifted to military hospitals
• Conflicting reports about the explanation for the incident
MANSEHRA: Thirteen people, including nine Chinese nationals, two personnel of the Frontier Constabulary (FC), and two locals, were killed and 28 others sustained injuries when a teacher carrying them to an under-construction tunnel site of the 4,300-megawatt Dasu hydropower project fell into a ravine within the Upper Kohistan area after an explosion on Wednesday.
According to eyewitnesses, three vehicles were on their thanks to the Dasu dam site during a convoy after learning Chinese laborers within the morning from Barseen camp — some eight kilometers from Dasu district headquarters of Upper Kohistan — via the Karakoram Highway when the blast occurred.
Sources aware of the investigation said a Chinese national was missing and a look for his whereabouts was underway.
“After the explosion, the coach fell into the riverside but the 2 other vehicles, a coaster, and a jeep, remained safe within the incident,” one among the eyewitnesses said.
Soon after the incident, army helicopters airlifted the bodies and therefore the injured, including 33 Chinese nationals, to the Combined Military Hospitals in Abbottabad and Gilgit.
In the meantime, the FC personnel cordoned off the world until police and other investigating agencies received the spot and began geo-fencing the world.
Wapda Chairman retired Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain rushed to Dasu and monitored the rescue and relief operation at the location.
There were conflicting reports about the explanation for the tragic incident.
Pakistan’s ministry (FO) said “leakage of gas” caused by a “mechanical failure” resulted in the blast within the bus after which it plunged into the ravine.
China is shocked & saddened at reports of casualties in the incident in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. We mourn for those who lost their lives & express sympathy to their families & the injured. pic.twitter.com/FvSucoExFq
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) July 14, 2021
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said during a tweet: “China is shocked & saddened at reports of casualties within the incident in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. We mourn for those that lost their lives & express sympathy to their families & the injured.”
The official statement issued by the Chinese embassy said the bus was “hit by blast on its thanks to the development site”.
The statement didn’t elaborate the explanation for the blast, but it advised the Chinese living in Pakistan to “stay on alert, pay close attention to the local security situation, strengthen security protection, take strict precautions, and stop going out unless necessary”.
The Chinese embassy, however, noted that investigations were underway. Both the Chinese foreign ministry and therefore the embassy in Islamabad praised Pakistani security forces’ handling of things after the blast.
Baqir Sajjad Syed in Islamabad also contributed to the present report.
