China and Pakistan will work together to investigate deadly bus blast

Chinese team will work with local Pakistani authorities to assist in rescue and determine if cause was accident or terror attack

Pakistani officials say bus had construction-related explosive on board as it travelled to Dasu hydropower project

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Rescue workers and onlookers in Pakistan gather around the wreckage of a bus which plunged into a ravine following an explosion, killing 13 and injuring 36. Most of the victims were Chinese nationals. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:19pm, 15 Jul 2021Updated: 4:36pm, 15 Jul 2021

China is sending a special team to Pakistan to work with local authorities in the ongoing rescue operation and investigation into Wednesday’s deadly shuttle bus blast that killed at least 13 people, after Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for a probe into whether it was the result of a terror attack.

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China was shocked by the incident which killed nine Chinese and was working to ensure the safety of its citizens in Pakistan. An inter-departmental team will be sent to the country for follow-up work, he added.

Zhao said China and Pakistan would work closely together and support each other during the investigation, which was announced after Wang condemned the blast and urged Pakistani authorities to get to the bottom of the incident.

The joint investigation was announced after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemned the blast and urged the Pakistani authorities to get to the bottom of the incident.

Wang also asked them to earnestly treat and attend to the victims’ needs, while taking all necessary measures to prevent it happening again. Pakistan should “immediately capture and severely punish” the perpetrators if it was confirmed as the work of terrorists, he said.

The bus was taking workers to a Chinese-funded dam construction site at the Dasu hydroelectric project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a US$65 billion investment plan which aims to connect western China to the Gwadar seaport in southern Pakistan.

The blast sparked an engine fire and plunged the bus into a ravine, according to a local official. The dead included nine Chinese engineers, surveyors and mechanical staff. A further 28 Chinese nationals were among the 36 people injured, in the worst incident so far to befall the CPEC project.