Three Chinese nationals among four killed in Pakistan bomb blast – police

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A bomb blast that ripped through a passenger van killed three Chinese nationals and a Pakistani in the southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday, police said.

Ghulam Nabi, the city police chief, told reporters the blast killed three foreigners and a local. “The reports we have got is that they’re Chinese,” he said.

The explosion occurred at 1:52pm in a van near the Confucius Institute — a Chinese language teaching centre at Karachi University. Following the blast, rescue and security agencies rushed to the location and cordoned off the areas, initiating rescue operations. The deceased Chinese nationals have been identified as the director of the Confucius Institute Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sai, and their Pakistani driver, Khalid.

The explosion was initially reported to have been caused by a gas cylinder. However, the police later said that the blast could have been a suicide attack.