Two others - a dancer and a teacher - who were critically injured in the crash were last night still in hospital.

Twenty-one others were mildly injured and were released from hospital after the crash on Friday. Yesterday they were preparing to return home.

The group, a 34-strong dance troupe from China, were travelling in three vans on an icy highway when the tragedy happened at 9:25 am local time.

The troupe were heading for a performance in Portland in the neighboring state of Oregon when disaster struck.

The two who died were thrown out of one of the vans which overturned after losing control on the slippery road. They died on the spot.

One of the other vans also rolled over after emergency braking, said the US-based Seattle Post.

Icy roads caused by a winter storm played a role in the crash, according to the paper.

One of the dead was from Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province. The other was from southwest China's Sichuan Province. They had gone to Beijing to study dancing.

Their parents, accompanied by a teacher from the dance academy, are to travel to the United States to handle funeral affairs, according to the Beijing Youth Daily.

The dancers were in America to carry out a three-week tour of their show "China in Dance 2001 - Legends of the Dynasties", which was to be performed in cities along the west coast.

The troupe were in the middle of their trip and had performed at the Met Theater in Spokane in Washington the previous night.

The Seattle Post reported that the "talented teens and young adults" had been receiving a warm welcome from audiences and got several encores.

The Chinese consulate in San Francisco has sent officials to help the troupe prepare to return to China.

(Chinadaily.com.cn 02/19/2001)