Three foreign tourists, two from Ireland and one from the Netherlands, died as their mini-bus crashed with a heavy-duty truck in Beijing on Tuesday, the municipal information department said.

The accident occurred at 9:25 a.m. Tuesday at a crossroad in the Shunyi District of Beijing. The mini-bus had seven foreign tourists aboard.

When the two motor vehicles were trying to dodge each other at the crossroad, cement drainage pipes fell off the heavy-duty truck and pounded upon the rear of the mini-bus, killing three tourists on the spot, according to the department.

The identity of the three dead tourists has been confirmed. They were Kramer Matthijs, a 51-year-old male from the Netherlands with the passport number of NJ8700089; Mc Carthy Fintan James, 37,a male from Ireland with the passport number of R428645; and Rabbitte Sonya Mary, 33, a female from Ireland with the passport number of b648258.

The accident also left another tourist from the Netherlands slightly injured, according to the department. The injured has been sent to a nearby hospital.

Other people on board the mini-bus, including the bus driver and a tourist guide, both Chinese, are safe, said the department.

The foreign tourists were on their way to visit the scenic spot of Great Wall in the city's suburb.

The municipal foreign affairs office has notified China's Foreign Ministry and the embassies of Ireland and the Netherlands to China about the accident, according to the department.

Municipal transportation, tourism and public security officials also rushed to the venue to organize rescue operation and ordered an investigation into the cause of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2006)