Nine Chinese among 13 killed as coach plunges into ravine

MANSEHRA: As many as 13 people, including nine Chinese and two Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel, were killed and 41 others injured when a coach plunged into a ravine after an explosion in Upper Kohistan on Wednesday.

The vehicle, which was damaged after the blast, was taking Chinese workers and engineers to the 4300 megawatt under-construction Dasu Hydropower Project. The explosion took place in Barseen area on the Karakoram Highway.

The driver and cleaner of the coach, which fell into the Indus River following the blast, were also killed in the incident.

A convoy of vehicles was on the way to the Dasu dam site after receiving Chinese labourers in the morning from Barseen camp which is situated at a distance of around eight kilometres to north of Dasu, the district headquarters of Upper Kohistan, through Karakoram Highway when the blast occurred.

A Chinese national went missing after the incident and a search was launched to locate him.

Upper Kohistan Deputy Commissioner Arif Yusufzai, who rushed to the scene following the blast, said it would be premature to say as to what actually had happened.

He added it was a gruesome incident and investigation agencies would determine the real causes of the incident, which initially claimed 10 precious lives, six of them Chinese nationals.

"The police and Bomb Disposal Unit are present on the spot. They are carrying out the investigation. We will inform the media about the actual position after a proper investigation," he said.

Arif Yusufzai requested the media to avoid any sort of speculation about the incident. A total of 41 people, including 33 Chinese nationals, were injured in the incident. They were airlifted by the army helicopters to the Combined Military Hospitals in Abbottabad and Gilgit.

The injured were first rushed to a health facility established for the Chinese workers and engineers.

The FC personnel cordoned off the area after the blast until police and other investigation agencies rushed to the spot and started the geo-fencing.

KP Chief Secretary Kazim Niaz and Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari rushed to the scene from Peshawar after the incident and initiated an inquiry to ascertain what exactly had happened.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office said Wednesday morning a bus carrying Chinese workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, plunged into a ravine after a mechanical failure resulting in leakage of gas that caused a blast. Further investigations are under way.

“According to preliminary reports, nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis lost their lives. Chinese workers and accompanying Pakistani staff were proceeding to their workplace for an ongoing project,” the Foreign Office added.

The local authorities are providing all possible assistance to the injured and the ministry of foreign affairs is closely in contact with the Chinese embassy for coordination and facilitation.

“The government and people of Pakistan extend sincere condolences to the families of Chinese and Pakistani workers who lost their lives in the incident. We also pray for quick recovery of the injured,” it said.

While the Foreign Office called the bus incident an ‘accident’, the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad called it an ‘attack’. In a statement Wednesday, the Chinese embassy said “a certain project of a Chinese firm in Pakistan suffered an attack, which caused the deaths of Chinese nationals”. It urged the Chinese firms to strengthen their security procedures. “At around 7am on July 14, local time, a Chinese company’s shuttle bus carrying staff to the Dasu hydropower project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was hit by blast on its way to the construction site,” said the Chinese embassy in Pakistan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, in a news briefing, said China had asked Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects.

“The Chinese embassy launched the emergency plan immediately, contacted the Pakistani military, the ministry of foreign affairs, the interior ministry and other relevant parties, and requested Pakistan to carry out rescue and treatment in the first place, and strengthen security of the Chinese citizens, institutions and projects in Pakistan, and investigate the incident thoroughly,” said the statement from the Chinese embassy.

“The Chinese embassy reminded Chinese citizens, enterprises, and projects in Pakistan to stay alert, pay close attention to the local security situation, strengthen security protection, take strict precautions, and stop going out unless necessary”.

Chinese engineers and Pakistani construction workers have been working on the Dasu hydroelectric project and several others for several years in the region.

Pakistan offered condolences to China on the tragic incident in which a bus carrying Chinese workers plunged into a ravine following a blast.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met State Councillor/Foreign Minister Wang Yi Wednesday in Dushanbe, on the sidelines of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Tajikistan.

“Foreign minister offered condolences on the tragic incident in which a bus carrying Chinese workers plunged into a ravine following a blast and had resulted in the loss of precious lives of Chinese workers and Pakistani nationals.

The foreign minister said the investigations were under way. He requested his Chinese counterpart to convey sentiments to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Qureshi said Pakistan and China are iron brothers. Both the countries share common understanding on various regional and international issues and had been supporting each other on issues of core interests.

Earlier, Water & Power Development Authority (Wapda) said a bus of the Chinese construction company China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), carrying 41 persons including 36 Chinese, 2 FC personnel and 3 other Pakistanis, met an accident Wednesday morning on the way to construction site of Dasu hydropower project from the contractor’s camp.

Meanwhile, district administration, Upper Kohistan and the law- enforcement agencies have started their probe to ascertain the cause of accident.