Accessibility links

Breaking News

Attack On Car In Pakistan's Karachi Wounds Two Chinese Workers


Security officials examine the car that was fired upon by gunmen in Karachi on July 28.
Security officials examine the car that was fired upon by gunmen in Karachi on July 28.

Gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on a car carrying two Chinese workers in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on July 28, wounding them before fleeing the scene.

Police officer Fida Hussain Jauhari told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that a third person in the vehicle appeared to be unharmed.

Police say the motive behind the attack was not immediately clear.

An initial police report said one of the Chinese men -- listed in serious condition with three gunshot wounds -- was a nuclear engineer working at the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant.

But a later police report identified both Chinese men as "factory workers," omitting the reference to the nuclear power plant.

The Karachi nuclear plant has been undergoing an expansion since 2015 under a $10 billion project financed by China -- the biggest energy and infrastructure investor in Pakistan. Two new nuclear reactors there are scheduled to go online in 2021 and 2022.

WATCH: Pakistani Authorities Give Conflicting Statements On Shooting Of Chinese Nationals

Pakistani Authorities Give Conflicting Statements On Shooting Of Chinese Nationals
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:01:02 0:00

Karachi is the capital of Pakistan's southern Sindh Province, also is home to several other Chinese-funded construction projects.

The incident comes weeks after a bus carrying 40 Chinese workers fell into a ravine in northwest Pakistan, killing nine Chinese and three Pakistanis.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry initially had said the accident occurred after a mechanical failure, resulting in "the leakage of gas that caused a blast."

But investigators later concluded that the bus driver had lost control after a suicide car bomber set off his explosives prematurely nearby.

The attack took place in Upper Kohistan, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders restive Afghanistan.

China has invested billions of dollars into Pakistan in recent years, but Chinese-funded projects have triggered discontent among some separatist groups who say local communities benefit little from the projects.

With reporting by AFP

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG