BEIJING, May 4: China has urged Pakistan to investigate a car bomb attack which killed three Chinese engineers helping to develop a seaport in Gwadar and will send a team of officials to handle the issue, state media said late Tuesday.

Chinese diplomats in Islamabad and Beijing met Pakistani officials in the two capitals on Monday and Tuesday, the Xinhua news agency said. "During their meetings, the Chinese officials lodged representations on the explosion to the Pakistani side and urged them to try their utmost to rescue the injured and handle the related affairs," foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan was quoted as saying.

Kong said China urged the Pakistani side to find out the cause of the explosion, punish the killers and take effective measures to guarantee the safety of Chinese people in Pakistan, Xinhua said.

The Pakistani police are investigating and reporting to the Chinese side in a timely manner, Kong was quoted as saying. China will send a joint working group made up of officials from the ministries of commerce, health and communications to look into the explosion in Pakistan, Kong said.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing talked over the telephone with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri on the bomb attack, Xinhua said. -AFP