Five Chinese illegal immigrants and two Vietnamese border guards died when a Chinese man, who refused to be returned to China, seized a gun from a guard and started shooting on Friday, Vietnam's government said today.

The gunfight and standoff took place at the border crossing in Bac Phong Sinh, Quang Ninh province. The crossing serves as a border between China and Vietnam, just opposite Guangxi Province.

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Based on the statement issued by the regional government, Vietnamese border guards detained 16 Chinese - two children, four women, and 10 men - after the group allegedly entered the border illegally.

The Vietnamese government said the group of Chinese illegal migrants was being taken to the border to be returned to China. It was not clear if the Chinese migrants were related to each other.

While the guards were checking the documents of the migrants, one of the Chinese men allegedly jumped at a guard, grabbed the officer's automatic weapon and started firing, instantly killing the guard who owned the gun.

It was not disclosed whether or not the Chinese fatalities included children and women and how many people were injured in the shooting.

The government statement claimed that a standoff occurred when some of the Chinese men allegedly stayed inside the office, refusing to get out even as Vietnamese and Chinese authorities urged them to surrender.

The statement also did not say if responding Vietnamese policemen and border guards shot and killed the Chinese migrants but witnesses said some of the victims died after jumping off the office building to escape getting hit by bullets.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not issued a statement regarding the border shootout.

The media also had limited information about the shootout because independent reporting in Quang Ninh province is not allowed by the Vietnamese government.