MANSEHRA: Dasu hydropower project’s warehouses and residential camps of Chinese engineers and workers were gutted in a heavy fire in the Barseen area of Lower Kohistan in the wee hours on Tuesday.

The fire, which started due to short-circuit at about 4:30am in the morning, ripped through the residential camps of Chinese engineers and workers. No loss of life was reported.

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Rescue 1122 fire tenders and fighters from Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan rushed to the spot after receiving emergency calls and started extinguishing the blaze. “The enraged flames engulfed the entire area and gutted camps and warehouses,” Khaliq Dad, the district emergency officer of Rescue 1122, Upper Kohistan, said.

He said it took five hours to put out the fire completely as firefighters from different districts and Chinese companies put their lives in danger to extinguish the blaze.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire was brought under control at about 9:30am and Chinese engineers and workers were shifted to nearby safer places.

“We have launched an inquiry into the incident and it would be completed in three days as it is part of our standard operational procedures,” Anwarul Haq, Dasu Dam’s General Manager, told reporters.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2023