A female overseas student from China was injured in the Boston Marathon explosions, the Chinese consulate general in New York confirmed Tuesday.

The diplomatic mission said its officials are dealing with the emergency now.

Netizens earlier said that a Chinese female overseas student surnamed Zhou was injured in the blasts, which have killed three people and injured more than 140 others in Boston.

The Chinese victim, who is still in a coma, graduated from China's Wuhan University and is currently studying in Boston University, according to information revealed by netizens.

A total of 87 Chinese nationals, aged between 20 and 65 and including 17 women, were registered for the Boston International Marathon, according to the organizers.

No Chinese professional marathoner was in the Boston event, said Chinese sports authorities.

The blasts happened at around 3 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) Monday and went off within seconds of each other near the marathon finish line.

US authorities told a press conference in Boston that a criminal investigation has been launched, which has a potential to become a terrorist probe.