Pakistani bus falls into ravine, at least 13 dead

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A bus carrying Chinese and Pakistani construction workers on a slippery mountain road in northwest Pakistan plunged into a valley on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, officials said.

At least 36 people were also injured in the accident, which appears to have occurred in Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Arif Javed, deputy district commissioner.

The accident occurred on a wet road after night rain, but Pakistani officials are still investigating, and the Chinese embassy said in a statement that the bus was attacked.

Chinese engineers and construction workers help Pakistan build a dam in Kohistan. Javid said Pakistani and Chinese construction workers were on their way to the project site when the accident occurred.

Asim Abbasi, the assistant commissioner in Kohistan, said authorities believe the accident was an accident but are investigating whether there was some kind of explosion on the bus. He said a gas cylinder may have exploded and there was likely an explosive in the car. Engineers often use explosives on construction projects.

“So far, we are not sure if there was an explosion on the bus, but the bus fell into a ravine and it looks like it was an accident,” he said.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy described the incident as an “attack.”

“Recently, our workers in a company on a particular project in Pakistan were attacked and killed and injured,” the statement said. “We have advised Chinese nationals in Pakistan to avoid venturing abroad unless business or employment requires it and to take special care of their safety.”

Citizens of the local village helped a man injured in a bus accident to be taken to hospital on July 14, 2021.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China was “shocked and condemns the bomb attack in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province”.

“We regret the deaths of Chinese and Pakistani personnel in the attack and express our sympathy to the families of the victims and the injured,” Zhao told a daily press briefing.

“We have called on the Pakistani side to find out the truth of the incident, arrest the attackers and strictly punish them as soon as possible, and protect the safety of Chinese individuals, enterprises and enterprises in Pakistan,” Zhao said.

Kamran Bangash, government spokesman for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, asked the media not to speculate because the officers were still investigating. He said helicopters are transporting seriously injured people to hospitals for treatment.

Bangash said investigators would soon inform the media of the cause of the accident. His comments came after local media quoted unnamed sources as saying that an explosion occurred in the bus carrying Chinese and Pakistani construction workers and security officials.

Road accidents are common in Pakistan, with motorists largely ignoring traffic rules and safety standards on damaged roads, particularly in the mountainous terrain in the north.

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