A jeep ploughed into a crowd and caught fire in front of the Tiananmen rostrum in downtown Beijing at noon Monday, killing five people and injuring another 38, police said.
The dead included three people in the jeep, a Filipino female tourist and a male tourist from south China's Guangdong Province, Xinhua reported citing the police.
The 38 injured include two females and one male tourist from the Philippines as well as a male tourist from Japan.
The jeep crashed into a guardrail of Jinshui Bridge across the moat of the Forbidden City before bursting into flames at 12.05 p.m., according to municipal police and Beijing Emergency Medical Centre.
The fire was put out soon after. Traffic became normal at the spot at 1.09 p.m..
The injured were given treatment at nearby hospitals.
Further investigation is under way.