Two die in crash near Olympic rowing venue

Two of the people involved in a crash near the Olympic rowing venue have died, the Beijing Olympic organising committee said today.

A bus from the athletes' village collided with a van on Wednesday on the way to the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.

Committee spokesman Wang Wei said two of the four passengers in the van died in a hospital.

"According to the investigation, the van was at fault and violated traffic rules," Wei said.

Two Croatian rowers, the doubles sculls team of Mario Vekic and Ante Kusurin, were on the bus but were not seriously injured. They competed later in the day and finished fourth in their semifinal.

Australian rowing team doctor Greg Lovell was also on the bus, along with several other Olympic-accredited people. No one on the bus was seriously injured.