ISLAMABAD: A powerful bomb was detonated at a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Quetta, leaving at least four people dead and 12 critically injured.

The Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan is suspected to have been the target of the attack in the car park of the Serena Hotel, according to a BBC news report.

He is reported to be in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province near the Afghan border, but was not present at the scene when the explosion took place.

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed the responsibility of the attack.

The vehicle exploded in the hotel’s car park and the fire spread burning down several other vehicles nearby, according to the footage of the blast shared on social media in the aftermath.

In a televised address, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said “a car that was full of explosives exploded in the hotel” while news agency AFP cited him as saying it was “an act of terrorism”.

The minister added that the Chinese ambassador, Nong Rong, was at a function at the time and so was not at the hotel.

The Serena Hotel is the best known in Quetta, and provides accommodation for government officials and visiting dignitaries.

(With inputs from BBC)