Two killed in accidental G-B dam blast

Explosion took place at Diamer-Bhasha dam construction site

GILGIT BALTISTAN:

At least two people were killed and seven others seriously injured in an accidental explosion at the Diamer-Bhasha dam construction site in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) on Friday.

According to the official Twitter handle of Infodor, a media and news company, a blast occurred at the Diamer-Bhasha dam in Pakistan during mountain exploration using explosives in which two people were killed and seven injured.

“The affectees (injured and bodies) were taken to a nearby hospital. Safety measures at the site are being investigated.”

According to reports, the explosive material, which is used in construction activities, blew up while work was ongoing.

A day earlier, the government approved the Diamer-Basha power generation project at a cost of over Rs1.2 trillion, showing an increase of Rs302 billion against the original price mainly due to the devaluation of the rupee.

The main objective of the project was to generate 4,500MW of hydropower as part of the Diamer-Bhasha dam project.

The Cabinet Committee on Energy had split the construction into two phases; the dam and power generation facilities.

Earlier this week, a fire ripped through the camp of a Chinese company managing the construction of a remote hydropower dam in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The police said that the pre-dawn blaze ruined a warehouse complex of the Dasu hydropower project in Kohistan district.

"It was a huge fire," a Rescue 1122 official at the site said. "Initially, the flames were very high and we had to call for fire brigade vehicles from two other districts."

He said, "It was quite a big storehouse, and apart from oil drums, stationery and machinery were also stockpiled there. That's all been destroyed in the fire."

The camp housed Chinese engineers, surveyors, and mechanics, but both the police and Rescue 1122 said none were injured or killed.

One police official said an electrical fault was the suspected cause of the fire.