GUWAHATI: An explosion in the parking lot of a bus station early Sunday killed three people and wounded five others in India's remote northeastern state, where several separatist groups operate, police said.

The homemade bomb went off in Imphal, the capital of Manipur state, killing three construction workers, said police Superintendent Ibomcha Singh.

Five other men were hospitalised. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Imphal is about 550 kilometers southeast of Guwahati, the biggest city in the region.

At least 17 separatist groups are active in Manipur state and often stage hit-and-run attacks on government forces.

Their demands range from greater autonomy for the state to an independent homeland for the people of Manipur.