Five workers were killed and six others injured on Thursday in an explosion at Shenghai Dockyard in the Panyu district of Guangzhou City, capital of South China's Guangdong Province.

The blast caused by an air jar explosion occurred at about 3:50 PM during construction work on a 4,250-ton capacity ship, according to local Information Times newspaper.

Three workers who were painting the ship died on the spot and two others passed away later in hospital.

The Guangzhou municipal work safety supervision bureau has ordered a suspension of shipyard operations while investigations are conducted, and has pledged to punish those responsible for the incident.

The Information Times also reported that a collapsed wall had killed one and injured six in the same shipyard on May 13.

(Xinhua News Agency May 27, 2005)