"The bus veered off highway 401 and crashed into a rock embankment near Prescott, Ontario, about 90 km south of Ottawa at around 3:30 p.m. local time (1930 GMT), according to local police," Xinhua news agency of China reported.

An emergency group found the bus in a ditch alongside the highway and no other vehicle was involved, the source told the news agency.

At least two helicopters, an aircraft and an ambulance reached the scene of the mishap, media reports said.