A bus carrying 23 Malaysian tourists crashed on a mountainous road in southern China, killing two of the passengers and the driver, an official said Tuesday.

The accident occurred Monday morning when the bus veered off a steep road in a forestry park near the city of Hezhou in southern China's Guangxi province, an official with the Guangxi government surnamed Liao told AFP .

"Two Malaysian women and the driver of the bus died in the crash," Liao said. The names of the victims were not immediately known.

23 others injured

The Hezhou Daily reported that two tour guides and 21 other Malaysians on the bus were injured. All were hospitalized although only one person was in a serious condition, it said.

China's roads are among the most dangerous in the world with more than 100,000 people dying annually in recent years, or an average of around 270 people every day.