Three Chinese were killed, nine other Chinese and two Pakistanis were injured in a car bomb explosion in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan Province on Monday, a senior police officer and doctors said.

The news was confirmed by an official of Chinese Consulate in southern Pakistan city of Karachi.

The Chinese were working on a seaport project in Gawadar, about 500 kilometers west of Karachi, close to the border with Iran.

A car, parked near the port, exploded as a coach, carrying 12 Chinese and 2 Pakistanis, arrived at the Gawadar port, police chief Gawadar Sattar Lasi said.

Dr. Masood Baloch in Gawadar hospital confirmed death of three people. He said that four of the injured are in critical condition and have been shifted to Karachi by plane.

Pakistan is building the country's third deep-sea port in Gawadar with the help of a Chinese construction company.

(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2004)