An explosion of a convoy of vehicles near Pakistan’s airport in the city of Karachi has killed two Chinese nationals and injured another, the Chinese embassy has confirmed.
Police and the provincial government said a tanker truck exploded near the Pakistan’s largest airport on Sunday night. The nature of the explosion was not immediately clear, local broadcaster Geo News reported, citing a provincial spokesman.
In a statement emailed to reporters, the separatist militant group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed they carried out the blast with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device targeting a “high-ranking convoy of Chinese engineers and investors” travelling from Karachi airport.
The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan said the convoy carrying Chinese employees of the Port Qasim Electricity Company was attacked around 11 p.m. The embassy condemned the “terrorist attack” and called for a thorough investigation to punish the perpetrators. The statement said:
“The Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in Pakistan strongly condemn this terrorist attack, express deep condolences to the innocent victims of both countries and sincere sympathies to the injured and (their) families.”
Video footage showed flames engulfing the vehicles and a thick column of smoke rising from the scene. A large number of military personnel have been deployed at the scene, which has been cordoned off.
Local official Azfar Mahesar told reporters that it appeared to be an oil tanker explosion. “We are determining the nature and reasons for the blast. It takes time.”
Rahat Hussain, who works for the civil aviation department, said the blast was so strong it shook airport buildings.
Thousands of Chinese workers are in Pakistan, many of them involved in the “economic corridor” between the two countries, which is the flagship section of Beijing’s multi-billion dollar “Belt and Road initiative” to link the Chinese capital to South and Central Asia and elsewhere.
The separatist group specifically targets Chinese interests, particularly the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the province. As a result, Chinese nationals working in the region have been killed and Beijing’s consulate in Karachi has been attacked.
Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said flights from Karachi were continuing “as normal” and “agencies are investigating the cause at the scene of the accident/explosion.”
