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French
Victims of Karachi Blast Working on Submarine Project
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Pakistan
army personnel examine the damaged bus at the site of the bomb
blast. |
KARACHI,
May 8 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The 11 French nationals
killed in a bomb blast Wednesday, May 8, in Karachi were working on a
joint Franco-Pakistani project to build three Agosta 90B class
submarines, the Karachi chief of France's naval construction unit
said.
"The
country isn't very stable, but we never had the slightest problem, nor
the slightest indication to take precautions," Gerard Clermont of
the Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) told Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Pakistani
police said a massive car bomb exploded while a navy bus carrying
French nationals working on a submarine project in Karachi was parked
outside the city's Sheraton hotel at around 8:00 am Wednesday,
Pakistan News Service reported.
Twenty-two
people were injured, including 11 French nationals. The other
casualties were reported to be Pakistanis.
“Earlier,
an intelligence agency in Pakistan had issued a warning that Indian
Agencies are strongly monitoring French assistance to Pakistan on
Auogusta Submarine project,” Pakistan News Service said.
The
intelligence agency also reported “a possible terrorist activity
could be sponsored by Indian secret agency RAW to malign Pakistan and
create a hurdle in this Pak-French joint venture.”
A
total 23 DCN employees were on the Pakistan navy minibus outside
Karachi's Sheraton Hotel when a car packed with explosives ploughed
into it, killing 11 Frenchmen and two Pakistanis and injuring 24
people, 11 of them French.
The
employees - engineers, technicians, or factory workers - hailed mainly
from the western city of Brest and the Channel port of Cherbourg,
where the DCN, a shipbuilder which is part of the defense ministry,
has installations.
Most
of those working on the Pakistani project were temporary workers with
short contracts, the defense ministry said.
The
DCN, which employs more than 15,000 people, set up a crisis center
following the apparent suicide attack to comfort friends and family of
the victims.
A
total of 40 French nationals were sent to Karachi to work on the
submarine project, following the signing of a contract September 21,
1994 that called for the joint construction of three submarines.
A
majority of the French construction team was staying in Karachi
hotels, including the Sheraton and the Avari.
The
first of the submarines, built in the French port of Cherbourg, was
delivered to Pakistan in 1999 and inducted into the Pakistan navy the
same year as the PNS Khalid.
The
second of the submarines - set to go into service this year - was to
be built in France but assembled in Karachi, while the third - set to
go into service in 2005 - was to be entirely built in the Pakistani
port.
The
force of the massive explosion shredded the Pakistan navy bus, blew
out the windows of buildings 100 meters away and left a large crater
on the ground outside the luxury hotel.
"It
was a car bomb explosion," Sindh provincial police chief Kamal
Shah told AFP. He said 10 of the 12 dead were French while 12 French
nationals were among the 22 people injured by the blast.
A
large crater could be seen near the twisted remains of the bus as
police cordoned off the area and tried to work out what happened.
"The
blast site is littered with human blood and parts of bodies,"
said senior police officer Zubair Mahmood. "Glass is scattered
everywhere. Many cars which had been parked in the hotel were also
damaged."
No
one was allowed near the blast site as police conducted their
investigations, but Sheraton staff described the horrific scene to AFP
by telephone.
"The
bus is littered with blood and human parts and metal is scattered
everywhere," said hotel employee Mohammad Aqeel.
"On
both sides it is devastating damage. I can see the front of the Pearl
Continental and I can't see any glass on any of the windows. There are
shops in front of the hotel and they have all been blown away."
The
New Zealand and Pakistan cricket teams were staying at the Pearl ahead
of the second Test due to start in Karachi Wednesday morning. New
Zealand cancelled the tour and announced the team's immediate return
home.
Wednesday's
attack is reported to have targeted foreigners although no one has
claimed responsibility and police said they could only speculate on
the motive.
Foreigners
traveling in Pakistan have been told to be cautious following threats
to Westerners from groups angered by Pakistani President General
Pervez Musharraf's support for the U.S.-led war on terror in
neighboring Afghanistan, BBC reported.
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