According to police, some people reported a suspicious looking object lying under a bridge near the Karachi bus stop on Saryab road in Quetta.
"The bomb disposal unit officials were called in to review the situation. The object was found to be a bomb weighing around 20 kilograms and while it was being diffused it detonated," SSP Razzaq Hyder said.
"The blast killed the head of the bomb disposal squad and two other officials," he said, adding five other people were injured in the attack.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, though many separatist and militant groups are active in the province.