(CNN) A bus carrying Chinese tourists crashed near Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah, killing at least 4 people and critically injuring multiple passengers, authorities said.

The tour bus crashed Friday morning near a rest area on Utah Highway 12 in Garfield County. Thirty people, including the driver, were on the bus when it "ran off the road and rolled into the guardrail," the Garfield County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Between 12 and 15 passengers suffered "very critical injuries" and 10 passengers had minor to serious injuries, the Utah Highway Patrol said. All the injured passengers were taken to area hospitals, including several by helicopter, the highway patrol said.

About a dozen passengers suffered critical injuries during the crash. CNN has obscured parts of this image because the condition of the victims could not be verified.

Photos provided by the highway patrol showed first responders treating passengers on the road, just feet away from the heavily damaged bus. Hours after the crash, the remains of the bus were still resting on the guardrail, surrounded by debris and with its top smashed in.

Employees of the nearby Bryce Canyon Resort told CNN their manager was called to crash scene to assist first responders with translating for the Chinese tour group. The manager is one of the few Chinese speakers in the area, the hotel staff said.

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