WARSAW, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed and 51 hospitalized, including nine seriously injured after a bus accident in southeastern Poland on Friday night, according to local media.

The bus, carrying 54 people, mainly Ukrainian tourists, pulled off the road on a sharp turn, fell from a slope and overturned several times around local time 11:00 at night (GMT 2100) in the village of Leszczawa Dolna.

The passengers, including adults and children, were traveling from Lviv, Ukraine to Vienna, Austria, local reports said.

All of the passengers were taken to six local hospitals, while a rescue operation that lasted the whole night was carried out on the site. A police investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the accident.

The number of victims might rise. A hotline was established at the Ukrainian Consulate in Lublin to provide the passengers' families with information.