A gun battle that broke out when police foiled an attempted armed robbery has left one armed robber suspect dead and his two accomplices seriously wounded.

A police source with Lianjiang city in the south China's Guangdong province said on Monday that the three men may be connected to a series of motorcycle robberies that occurred three days before the dramatic incident.

The three suspects were seen cruising suspiciously in the streets of the city's Shiling development zone at about 6:00 AM on Saturday. All three were mounted on one motorcycle.

Police were alerted and eight plainclothes officers quickly arrived on the scene.

Police said that as the suspects passed a gas station, they veered towards a motorcycle being ridden by a woman, forcing her to stop and dragging her to the ground.

As police closed in, one robber smashed the rider across the head with a home-made shotgun and another grabbed the key from her hand and prepared to make off.

Ignoring warning shots from police, the three suspects started the motorcycle, drew their guns and tried to escape. In the ensuing gun battle, all three robbers were hit.

There were no police casualties. The three men were sent to the local hospital where one later died.

A preliminary investigation shows that all three are locals.

(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2006)