A blast on a bus killed 13 people in north Pakistan’s Khyber-Paktunkhwa on Wednesday, including nine Chinese nationals in what Beijing said was a bomb attack but Islamabad called a vehicle failure.
Two Pakistani soldiers were also among the dead after the explosion sent the bus over a ravine, local government and police sources told Reuters.
Chinese engineers and Pakistani construction workers have for several years been working on hydroelectric projects as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative in the western province of Khyber-Paktunkhwa.
China’s embassy in Pakistan confirmed that nine of its nationals died.
Terming the explosion a bomb attack but not giving more details, the Chinese foreign ministry offered condolences and urged both a thorough investigation and protection of its personnel and projects.
“Recently, our workers at a business on a certain project in Pakistan were attacked and have suffered deaths and injuries. We have notified Chinese citizens in Pakistan to avoid venturing outside unless required by work or business and pay especial care to their safety,” the Chinese embassy statement said.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China was “shocked by and condemns the bomb attack”.
“We have demanded the Pakistani side get to the bottom of the incident, arrest and strictly punish the assailants as soon as possible, and earnestly protect the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan,” Zhao said at a press briefing.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Wednesday maintained that a mechanical failure caused a gas leak, which led to the explosion.
The bus “plunged into a ravine after a mechanical failure resulting in leakage of gas that caused a blast. … Further investigations are underway,” the ministry’s statement said.
However, the province’s top police official, inspector general Moazzam Jah Ansari, earlier in the day said foul play was suspected. “Looks like sabotage,” he said.
A senior administrative officer of the Hazara region, who asked not to be named, said the bus was carrying more than 30 Chinese engineers to the Dasu dam in Upper Kohistan.
The Dasu hydroelectric project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment plan aiming to link western China to the southern Pakistani port of Gwadar.
“This is clearly an act of terrorism that has been carefully planned and was supported by information,” said an editorial in Global Times, a Chinese tabloid run by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, calling it the most serious attack on Chinese nationals in recent years.
Using an air ambulance, rescuers took the injured, including Chinese engineers, to a hospital in Dasu, about 10km from the blast site, authorities said.
“Police and the bomb disposal squad are at the site,” added regional official Arif Khan Yousufzai outside the hospital, adding that an investigation was awaited to ascertain details.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it was in close contact with the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, adding in a statement: “Pakistan attaches great importance to the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and…”
Recently, Pakistan has seen a resurgence in terrorist attacks, increasing worries of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is already trying to overcome an economic crisis with the help of Chinese investment under President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Pakistan’s military has reported 11 such incidents in the north and south-west region since June that have killed 22 soldiers.
