Two Chinese Tourists Killed As Bus Overturns In Russian Far East

A bus has overturned in Russia's Far East, killing two Chinese tourists and injuring the driver and 18 other passengers, including 13 who were hospitalized.

There were 43 Chinese tourists on board the bus when it plunged into a ravine and turned over near the city of Ussuriisk on May 28, Primorye regional Governor Oleg Kozhemyako's office said on its website.

Kozhemyako offered condolences to the victims' loved ones and to the Chinese consul in Vladivostok, Yan Wenbin.

He said that the injured tourists were being provided with all necessary medical assistance and that the bodies of the two who were killed would be repatriated as soon as possible. Primorye shares a long border with China.

Media reports quoted local authorities as saying that the crash might have occurred after the bus driver felt unwell.

The director of the company the driver works for, Ivan Surovikin, told state-run news agency TASS that the driver was an experienced employee who had been a bus driver for more than 20 years.

With reporting by TASS and Interfax