Beijing  - At least three foreign tourists died Wednesday when a hot-air balloon crashed in the southern Chinese tourist city of Guilin, state media said.

Five people were on board when they lost control of the balloon and it crashed in Maling township, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

An explosion occurred as the balloon crashed, the agency said.

The condition of the remaining two passengers and the nationality of the dead tourists were not immediately known, it said. (dpa)