There were thirteen Pakistani labourers residing in a room attacked by unidentified men in the border area of Iran on Saturday, BBC Urdu reported. At least nine were killed and three miraculously survived.

“Armed men entered the room in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping,” one of the survivors told the Urdu section of the international media outlet.

“After entering the room, the attackers asked ‘Those who are Pakistanis stand up…’ They started asking everyone.”

One to two people tried to flee the room, however, the attackers managed to control them and torture them. “They tied them all with their waistbands and held them with their faces to the ground.”

It was followed by indiscriminate firing, the survivor said. “I was present among them. I was shot in the leg and arm. After the firing, they began to check if anyone was alive. Blood was all around me. I was buried under corpses.”

He managed to save his life by playing dead. “I held my breath with all my might. They left the room thinking I was dead too.”

He added that one of the three survivors was in critical condition.

All the labourers belonged to Punjab’s Lodhran and Muzaffargarh. Most of them worked as mechanics.

The incident occurred a day before the scheduled visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to Pakistan.

This comes after tensions escalated between the two countries following an Iranian airstrike in Pakistan, triggering Islamabad to strike terrorist hideouts in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

A police team had timely reached the site of the incident, Ali Raza, the deputy security and law enforcement officer of Sistan Baluchistan province, was quoted as saying by Irani news agency Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Survivors told police that three armed men fled the room after firing at them.

Pakistan has demanded Iran “immediately investigate” the incident and hold to account those involved in this heinous crime. According to Tehran, a probe into the attack has started.

“This heinous attack is an attempt to spoil relations between Pakistan and Iran by our common enemies. While offering condolences to the families of victims, urge the Iranian govt for action,” Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said in a post on X.

Another labour who survived the attack said that he had gone to the washroom momentum before the terrorists entered the room.

According to him, he realised the gravity of the situation after hearing gunshots and the voices of some people leaving the room.

“When I entered the room, the whole floor of the room was painted red with blood. I had lost my senses and I did not know what to do,” he said and added that it seemed that all of his roommates had been killed.

Amidst this, he said that a labourer asked him to go outside and call their workshop owners to inform them about the incident. Later, police, an ambulance, and more people came to the site.

Pakistan’s consul in Zahidan reached the hospital and met three wounded persons, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran Mudassir Tipu said.

“Glad that 2 will soon be discharged while our third brother will require more treatment. Pakistan firmly stands with them & do whatever required for their wellbeing,” he said in a post on X.