Seven Chinese tourists died Friday when a tourist bus crashed into the ice on Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. A regional branch of Russia's disaster management ministry issued a statement on social media saying the bus fell into a three-meter-wide ice crevice and sank.

"Rescuers found the bodies of seven people using underwater cameras," the statement said. The nationalities of the victims were not immediately clear. However, Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev said the victims were Chinese and the Chinese Consulate General had been informed. Kobzev quoted an eyewitness as saying that "one passenger managed to escape the accident after the tourist bus started to sink." The vehicle was found 18 meters (66 feet) below the surface. Lake Baikal in Russia is a major tourist destination in Siberia. It lies north of Mongolia and is a popular destination for Chinese tourists. In winter, the lake freezes and forms crystal-like columns, which attract thousands of tourists.