Iceland: Crash kills Chinese tourist, critically injures 12

Police in Iceland say one person was killed and 12 more were critically injured after a bus carrying 46 Chinese tourists skidded off the road after a rear-end collision with a compact car.

The Icelandic blood bank sent out an alert for donations of blood type O following the accident on Wednesday on Route 1, a national road that runs around the island.

The car and bus crashed near the Eldhraun lava field about 250 kilometres east of Reykjavik, Iceland's capital.

Police say the bus flipped on its side when it went off the road, trapping two passengers underneath. One died on the scene.

Bus company owner Fjalar Ulfarsson said the Chinese group was on the fourth day of a week-long visit to Iceland when the accident took place. "The road there is narrow and had some icing from what I gather," Ulfarsson told The Associated Press.

Three helicopters were used to transport the most severely injured to a hospital emergency room in the capital.

A relief station was set up for the other 33 passengers in nearby Kirkjubaejarklaustur village.

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The car's driver and a passenger also were tourists, visiting Iceland from Lithuania. They were not injured, officials said.

South Iceland Police said an initial investigation suggested the car slowed down in front of the bus while attempting to turn toward a lookout point.