One person is dead after a tour bus struck several pedestrians near the back of a SUV at a popular downtown Vancouver tourist spot on Sunday morning.

The incident happened just before 10 a.m. local time near Canada Place, a venue where visitors board free shuttles to local landmarks and come and go from cruise ships. Police later issued a news release saying a 49-year-old male tourist had died.

Three other people were injured in the crash, according to BC Emergency Health Services.

Vancouver police said a 15-year-old girl sustained minor injuries, and an elderly man remains in hospital with serious injuries. All of the injured parties are said to be tourists.

Witnesses told CTV Vancouver they believe the occupants of the SUV were loading or unloading their luggage from a vehicle when the bus struck them -- trapping three of them underneath.

Police said the bus was travelling at low speeds when it collided with a parked vehicle.

“I found two persons under the truck tire. One was unconscious and another was actually groaning pain. There was no way that we could help,” said one witness.

Paramedics were on the scene within three minutes of the incident to assist the victims, according to a tweet from the Joe Acker, a director with BC Emergency Health Services.

First responders rescued one woman from beneath the bus, and used the Jaws of Life and blocks of wood to rescue a second man who was trapped. The third man stuck under the bus took much longer to rescue. Responders were seen performing CPR on him before he was taken to hospital. Another individual was taken to hospital earlier.

A paramedic at the scene said there were 27 people on the bus, including the driver. They remained on board while emergency crews worked to free those who were trapped underneath. The bus driver is said to have remained at the scene for several hours.

"I heard the sound, the crash. And I saw all the excitement," said another man who was at Canada Place with his grandchildren. "It was pretty sad."

The Vancouver Trolley Company has confirmed the bus is one of theirs. The side of the bus said it was the free shuttle to the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

"It's with deep regret we confirm that one of our tourist buses was involved in a tragic accident in Vancouver this morning," general manager Stuart Coventry wrote in a statement posted to Facebook. "It is far too soon to speculate on what happened, and we will cooperate fully with the Vancouver Police Department Collision Investigation Unit in their investigation."

Police will examine photos of the scene and conduct a mechanical inspection of the bus. They said charges have not been ruled out.

With reports from The Canadian Press, CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith, Scott Bills and Sarah MacDonald