ISLAMABAD: Massive fire scorched the warehouse complex at the hydropower dam site managed by a Chinese company in Northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday. The fire devastated the storehouse for the Dasu hydropower project in the Kohistan district of North-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Oil drums, stationery and machinery stockpiled at the location were gutted. Fire tenders from three districts worked in tandem for several hours to douse the fire. The camp housed Chinese engineers, surveyors and mechanics. It has been suspected that a short circuit has led to the fire.

China has been spending billions of dollars for infrastructure build-up in Pakistan since 2015 as part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Chinese companies and citizens are involved in these projects.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has come under attack from insurgent groups in the recent past. Many Chinese officials lost their lives in the suicide attacks on project sites. The change of regime in Afghanistan has given terror outfits in Pakistan a new lease of life and they often target Chinese assets on Pakistan soil.