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Three sat in the front and died - three sat in the back and lived

It was just a row of seats that separated life from death for three survivors of an attack on Chinese civilians by militants in Pakistan.

Engineers Yuan Fengyu , Xue Jijun and Yang Wei were reunited with their families in China yesterday.

The three survived the attack because they were sitting in the back of the car while three other engineers and their Pakistani driver - sitting in front - were killed by gunmen travelling on two motorcycles on Wednesday.

Mixed emotions overwhelmed Mr Yuan as he was reunited with his wife at Hefei airport in Anhui . Except for saying thank you and shaking hands with friends, the tearful engineer said he could not express his feelings.

His wife sobbed and was speechless when she embraced her husband. She told Xinhua reporters that Mr Yuan had left home for Pakistan on January 6. She said that since the attack, she has had sleepless nights and that she had finally let out a sigh of relief when she saw her husband.

'It's all right as long as he [Mr Yuan] is back,' Mrs Yuan said, her voice trailing into further sobs.

Mr Xue, who appeared calmer than Mr Yuan, held his daughter tight during their reunion. The shooting may have shocked him but it has left him undeterred. 'After the situation resumes to normality [in Pakistan], [I] will return,' said Mr Xue.

His daughter told reporters: 'Even though my father survived this time, he must have gone through enormous stress. When we get home, I'll comfort him.'

The shooting had made her value the love of her family, she said, adding that she would appreciate her parents more in future.

Seven other engineers who were not in the car but had been working on the same project arrived with the survivors.

The 10 boarded a Pakistani military plane on Thursday night and arrived in Beijing yesterday.

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