MEXICO CITY - At least 18 Mexican tourists died and two dozen were injured when their tourist bus plunged into a ravine in the western state of Nayarit, a local official told AFP on Sunday.

The bus, from a private company, was transporting tourists on a 220km journey from Guadalajara in the neighbouring state of Jalisco to the beach destination of Guayabitos in Nayarit when it went off the road, according to civil protection official Pedro Nunez.

The cause of the accident late Saturday was not known.

All the passengers were Mexican nationals, said Nunez.