Seven Chinese tourists died Friday when a tour bus crashed through the ice of Russia's Lake Baikal in Siberia, local officials said.

The bus fell into an ice fissure three metres wide and sank, the regional branch of Russia's emergency situations ministry said in a post on social media.

"Rescuers carried out an inspection using an underwater camera. The bodies of seven people were discovered," it said.

Governor Igor Kobzev said according to eye witness reports, one tourist managed to escape the bus before it sank.

The Chinese Consulate General in Irkutsk confirmed the news, saying it has activated its emergency response mechanism and dispatched consular officials to the site of the accident.

Lake Baikal, the deepest in the world, is a major tourist destination in Siberia.

It is just north of Mongolia and popular with Chinese visitors.

In the winter, the vast body of water freezes, creating visually stunning crystal-like columns and a distinctive cracking noise from crashing waves trapped underneath the surface.

Officials set up specific ice roads over the frozen lake that are monitored by authorities and opened for certain types of vehicles depending on the conditions.

Driving elsewhere on the lake is officially prohibited.

Kobzev said the road had not been cleared for use and that a criminal case had been opened into the incident. (Xinhua, AFP)



Edited by Priscilla Ng