Islamabad, Mar 26 (IANS): In a suicide attack, six people, including five Chinese nationals, were killed after the vehicle in which they were travelling was targeted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Besham city in Shangla district, media reports said.

Police said the attackers crashed their vehicle full of explosives into the car carrying Chinese engineers who were going to Dasu camp in Kohistan from Islamabad, the Geo News reported on Tuesday.

The car's driver, who was a Pakistani national, succumbed to his injuries during treatment in a hospital.

A search operation was launched in the area for the suspects after a heavy contingent of security personnel arrived at the site and cordoned off the area.

China's Gezhouba Group Company is involved in the construction of a major hydroelectric dam in the Dasu area, which has been a target in the past as well.

A bus explosion in 2021 in the region had killed 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals.

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the incident and expressed solidarity with the families of the deceased.

A statement issued by PPP's media cell on X said that Bilawal extended condolences to the Chinese government and called for severe punishment for those involved in the attack.

The safety of Chinese workers has long been an area of concern in Pakistan with a convoy of Chinese engineers attacked in Balochistan province by armed rebels last year.

Dasu is the site of a major hydroelectric dam, under construction by the China Gezhouba Group Company, and the area has been attacked in the past.