COPENHAGEN - A bus, carrying 46 Chinese tourists, rear-ended and then flipped over in Iceland on Wednesday, leaving at least one dead at the scene and 12 injured hospitalized in the aftermath, the Chinese embassy in Iceland said in a statement.

The accident took place at around 11:00 am local time on the highway near Kirkjubaejarklaustur, some 250 km south of the capital Reykjavik, it said.

The passengers with serious injuries were transported to a major hospital for treatment in Reykjavik, said the statement.

The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management of Iceland said on its Facebook account that the bus was carrying 44 Chinese tourists as well as a driver and a guide when it collided with a passenger car before it rolled over on its side.

According to the department, a total of 12 seriously injured people were taken to the hospital in Reykjavik by helicopters, while passengers who escaped unhurt or with minor injuries have been moved to an emergency aid shelter opened by the local Red Cross Society in Kirkjubaejarklaustur.