Fourteen people died and 45 were injured after a runaway truck ploughed into a group of people waiting for a bus in Southwest China's Yunnan Province on Friday.

The accident occurred at about 8:30 am when a heavy truck crashed into the rear of a medium-sized truck and a minibus on a road in Yunxian County, Lincang, local police said.

The smaller truck then began moving unstoppably forward, killing nine people on the spot with another five dying on the way to hospital.

The 45 injured were receiving treatment in hospital on Friday evening.

The tragedy was just one of a number of accidents that have marred the first four days of the May Day holiday.

Yunnan police said on Friday that an explosion at a hotel in Jinggu County, the city of Pu'er, had killed two people and left two injured.

The blast occurred at about 6:40 am on Thursday in Room 406 on the top floor of the Jindi Hotel, killing a man and a woman who had checked in the day before.

The flames entered a neighboring room and the room below, and one of the two injured guests, a 21-year-old woman, is in a serious condition.

Witnesses said the explosion caused a shower of glass and bricks, and smashed windows of the Jindeng Hotel on the other side of the street.

Local police are investigating the cause of the blast.

Many tourism-related accidents occurred during the Golden Week holiday, according to a notice issued by the China National Holiday Office.

The notice urged relevant departments nationwide to strengthen safety guidance and tourism management.

On Tuesday, an avalanche in Diqing Prefecture of Yunnan Province killed two and injured seven.

Meanwhile, the sudden collapse of an ancient tree at Gulong Temple in Shuangliu County, Sichuan, killed two and injured four.

On Wednesday at Shahu Lake in Yinchuan, Northeast China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, about 4,000 tourists were stranded on boats for nearly two hours because of concerns about strong winds.

A high tide flooded Taigong Island in Rizhao, East China's Shandong Province, trapping 51 tourists who were later rescued.

In Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, a glider hit a boat in an amusement park, injuring a 13-year-old girl who is still in a coma.

At Guangzhou Zoo, three tourists climbed a tree next to a fountain to take a photograph but the tree fell down hitting a tourist and a car. At least 17 people were hospitalized.