12 killed in Pakistan bus ‘blast’, including 9 Chinese

dpa Islamabad At least nine Chinese engineers with a hydro power project were among 12 killed in northern Pakistan on Wednesday when the bus they were rid...

dpa IslamabadAt least nine Chinese engineers with a hydro power project were among 12 killed in northern Pakistan on Wednesday when the bus they were riding in was struck by a blast.Police and military sources described the incident as an attack caused by a roadside bomb.Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, however, said it was the result of a gas leak that caused an explosion and sent the bus careening into a ravine.One Pakistani soldier and two local workers accompanying the Chinese were also killed in the attack in the town of Dasu, near the country’s border with China, a military source told dpa.Security sources said an improvised explosive device (IED) went off as the bus was carrying the Chinese and their Pakistani guards from Barseen camp, around 15 kilometres from Dasu, to the project site early morning.The blast hit as the bus drove out of the highly-fortified camp that includes residential quarters for Chinese workers.Scores of people were injured and the death toll might rise from the 12 so far, police official Mohamed Yousaf told dpa.Around 30 people, mostly Chinese, were on board the bus when it was hit, he added.   No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attack so far, but Islamist militants linked with the Pakistani Taliban, who are different from their Afghan counterparts, and nationalist rebels often target Chinese interests in Pakistan.At least six hours after the first reports of an attack, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry in the capital Islamabad confirmed the deaths but gave a different version of events.The ministry said the bus “plunged into a ravine after a mechanical failure resulting in leakage of gas that caused a blast.” The Chinese embassy in Islamabad called the incident a bombing, contradicting the Pakistani ministry.China’s Foreign Ministry in Beijing condemned the attack and asked Pakistan to protect the safety of Chinese personnel, institution and projects, according to media reports. Beijing is building the Dasu hydro power project in the district of Kohistan under an investment plan that forms part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a flagship economic and infrastructure programme of Chinese President Xi Jinping.