The families of the three Chinese engineers killed in a car bomb attack in Pakistan were on May 10 each compensated 300,000 yuan (about 36,275.70 US dollars), sources said in Beijing.

The three victims were all policy-holders of the PICC (the People's Insurance Company of China) Property and Casualty Co., Ltd. (PICC P&C), China's leading property insurer.

The insurer said that the three engineers took out policy for employer liability insurance and personal injury insurance in 2003 and 2004, with a sum of up to 300,000 yuan each.

Compensation for other wounded Chinese engineers in this car bomb attack is underway, the insurer said.

The three Chinese were killed on May 3, when an unoccupied car exploded near their bus in Gwadar, about 500 km west of Karachi, where hundreds of Chinese are working on a deep seaport on the Arabian Sea coastline. The attack also left 11 people injured including nine Chinese and two Pakistanis.

The dead and injured Chinese are project supervision engineers employed by China Harbor Engineering Company (Group), helping build the deep seaport in Gwadar. The project is expected to be completed in 2005.

Under the assistance of the Pakistani government, the nine injured Chinese engineers have received intensive medical treatment in Pakistan.

Four engineers returned to China Friday morning for further medical treatment. The rest are staying in Pakistan, of whom three have almost recovered and two suffered heavier injuries and were still undergoing medical treatment in a Pakistan hospital.

The attack aroused high attention from the Chinese side. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have required relevant Chinese departments to do whatever it takes to save the injured and spare no efforts to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens in Pakistan.

The Chinese side has also urged the Pakistani side to find out the truth of the incident and take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals in Pakistan.

The remains of the three dead engineers were brought back to China Friday night by a special plane of the Pakistan air force, escorted by Pakistan officials, including Communication Minister Senator Babar Ghori.