MUZAFFARABAD: Four people including a Chinese engineer were killed Wednesday when a wall collapsed at a construction site for a major dam project in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, officials said.

The accident happened at the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower project intake site 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistan-administered part of the disputed Himalayan territory.

“Four workers including a Chinese engineer were killed when a wall collapsed,” Sayed Asif Gardezi, a local administration official, told AFP.

He said a Chinese engineer and two other Pakistani workers were injured but they were out of danger. The incident was confirmed by local rescue officials.

China is one of Pakistan's main allies and there are thousands of Chinese engineers and other workers in Pakistan helping on infrastructure projects including nuclear power plants, dams and roads.

Last month Beijing promised Islamabad investment worth $42 billion over the coming years, much of it focused on the energy sector where Pakistan suffers chronic and economically damaging shortages. Industrial safety standards in Pakistan are poor and fatal accidents are common.

Opinion

Editorial

On unstable ground
06 Mar, 2026

On unstable ground

PAKISTAN’S economic managers repeatedly tout improvements in macroeconomic indicators, including rising foreign...
Divide et impera
06 Mar, 2026

Divide et impera

AS if the high loss of life in Iran, regional escalation and economic turbulence caused by the US-Israeli aggression...
New approach needed
06 Mar, 2026

New approach needed

WITH one World Cup campaign ending in despair, Pakistan began to plan for the start of the cycle of another by...
Collective wisdom
05 Mar, 2026

Collective wisdom

IN times like these, when war is raging in the neighbourhood, it is important for the state to bring on board all...
Economic impact
Updated 05 Mar, 2026

Economic impact

The Iran-linked instability highlights the fact that Pakistan’s macroeconomic resilience remains fragile.
Shrouds of innocence
05 Mar, 2026

Shrouds of innocence

TWO-and-a-half years of relentless slaughtering of Palestinian children, with complete impunity and in the most...