The Chinese Embassy in South Africa has confirmed that at least three tourists from China died and several others were injured when the tourist bus they boarded collided with a van near Johannesburg Wednesday afternoon.

Two of the Chinese tourists died on the spot while the other one died on the way to the hospital, a Chinese official who assisted in the rescue operation told reporters.

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The bus, carrying 20 Chinese tourists and a Chinese tour guide, was on its way back to Johannesburg from a tourism trip to Sun City when a speeding van crashed head-on with it. The accident occurred in Northwest Province, said a travel agency representative that arranged the tour.

The Chinese tourists were on a six-day African tour organized by the Walk Through Africa Tours (WTAT).

Two witnesses at the scene said the van collided with the bus when trying to overtake another vehicle on the road. It appeared that the driver was drunk, sources said.

The impact of the collision was so heavy that those inside the bus were thrown off their seats. Two of them died instantly while a rescue helicopter attempted to rush a third Chinese to Johannesburg but failed to take the tourist to the hospital alive.

At least three others were severely injured and were brought to the nearby BRITS hospitals, said Pan Peng, counselor of Chinese Embassy to South Africa.

Local reports did not identify the fatalities while the condition of the van driver remained unknown as of this posting.

Police investigators in Northwest Province were still trying to establish the cause of the collision although they initially believed that the van driver lost control of his vehicle because he was allegedly heavily intoxicated.

South Africa is one of the top tourist destinations for Chinese travelers. For this year, at least 110 million Chinese tourists are expected to travel abroad. 

TagsChina Bus Accident