Three died and six others were injured while repairing a Liberian cargo ship when it caught fire at a shipyard in eastern China's Shanghai Municipality, said China Shipping (Group) Company Tuesday, the owner of the shipyard.

The local fire department said they received a call reporting the fire at 9 a.m., and had it under control by 12 o'clock noon.

The fire was completely put out shortly afterwards. All the dead and injured were Chinese workers, said local fire authorities.

Police were investigating the cause of the accident, said the company.