A total of 24 South Korean nationals were killed or injured in a deadly bus crash on a rural highway of the U.S. state of Oregon, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Five Koreans were among the nine people who died after the tour bus carrying 47 people slid off an icy highway and down an embankment Sunday morning in Oregon, the ministry said in a statement, identifying the Korean victims by name.

Local news reports said the crash took place as the bus was returning to Vancouver, Canada from Las Vegas.

Seven Koreans remained hospitalized, while 12 other Koreans were released from hospitals and are preparing to return home, according to the statement.

The ministry sent its consular officials to the crash scene to support survivors and help local police identify victims, ministry officials said. (Yonhap News)