The remains of three Malaysians with Chinese descent who were killed last Friday in a traffic accident in north China's Shanxi Province were cremated on Tuesday afternoon, local authorities said.

The cremation was conducted at the request the family members of the three victims, according to the Shanxi Provincial Office for Foreign Affairs.

The family members will take their ashes back to Malaysia, sources with the office said.

The remains of a fourth victim, also a Chinese-Malaysian, are to be sent back to Malaysia according to the wish of the victim's family members, the source said.

The four people were killed on the spot in a traffic accident on Friday evening, when a bus carrying 17 Chinese-Malaysian tourists, a Chinese driver and a Chinese tour guide fell into a ravine while traveling on a highway in Wenshui County, about 80 kilometers southwest of Taiyuan, the provincial capital.

The accident also left 14 others injured, three seriously - including the Chinese tour guide.

The three seriously injured are still in critical condition, said a director surnamed Ji of the Brain Surgery Department with the Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital.

The other 11 people are still in hospital for treatment.

Preliminary investigations show that the bus lost control when the driver made a sudden swerve as the vehicle was going downhill, local police said.

The bus driver escaped after the accident and is still at large, police said.

The bus, owned by the Taiyuan-registered Kanghua Travel Agency, was on a return trip to Taiyuan after it failed to reach the planned destination of a renowned mountainous resort because of heavy rain and traffic jams.

The 17 Chinese-Malaysian tourists were touring Shanxi and the neighboring Shaanxi Province while seeking family roots.

(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2006)