KUALA LUMPUR 

Eight people were killed and 21 others injured Thursday when a tour bus in Malaysia crashed into a ditch and caught fire.

Supt Somsak Din Keliaw, police chief of Tapah town, said the accident happened at around 01.15 a.m. (1715GMT) on an expressway that passes through Tapah in western Perak state.

"It is believed that the accident happened after the bus driver tried to avoid hitting a tire on the road, causing the bus to crash into the ditch on the left and catch fire," national news agency Bernama quoted him as saying.

Seven passengers burned to death after the tour bus carrying 30 passengers skidded off the road, and the driver -- who had suffered a serious rib injury -- died on the way to hospital.

While 21 passengers were wounded, two others sustained no injuries, according to Somsak Din.

The injured persons and the bodies of the deceased were taken to nearby hospitals.

The bus had been traveling from Kuala Kurau town to the Genting Highlands hill resort at the time of the accident.