A bus bomb blast in Pakistan has killed at least eight people
At least eight people, including six Chinese nationals and a Pakistani soldier, were killed in a roadside bomb blast in a remote northern Pakistan region on Friday, Reuters reported. It is unknown at this time whether the blast was caused by an explosive device on the road or was hidden in a bus.
"After the explosion, the bus fell into a deep ravine and was completely destroyed. A Chinese engineer and soldier are missing. "A rescue operation has been launched and the entire government machinery has been mobilized to rescue the injured." a government official told Reuters.
Several other people were injured
Six Chinese nationals, a paramilitary member and a local were killed, the official said, adding that several others were injured. A senior administrative official from the Khazar region said 30 Chinese engineers were riding in a bus to the Dasu Dam in Upper Kohistan.
The Dasu hydropower project is part of a $ 65 billion Sino-Pakistani economic corridor investment plan under the Beijing Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to connect western China with the port of Gwadar in southern Pakistan. Chinese engineers, along with Pakistani construction workers, have been working on the Dasu hydropower project for several years and several others in the region where the blast occurred.