A fire ripped through the camp of a Chinese company managing the construction of a remote hydropower dam in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday

A fire ripped through the camp of a Chinese company managing the construction of a remote hydropower dam in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday

A fire ripped through the camp of a Chinese company managing the construction of a remote hydropower dam in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, officials said. Since 2015, Beijing has poured billions of dollars into Pakistan under an investment scheme known as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Private firms have also flooded over the border to service contracts on ambitious infrastructure projects, despite persistent threats from Pakistani militants.

Police said Tuesday’s pre-dawn blaze ruined a warehouse complex for the Dasu hydropower project in the Kohistan district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of Islamabad. “It was a huge fire,” a Rescue 1122 official at the site told AFP. “Initially, the flames were very high and we had to call for fire brigade vehicles from two other districts.” “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,” he added.

Editor: Raja Kamran