A huge one thousand year-old banyan tree toppled over on Tuesday in Gulong Temple in Huanglongxi Town in southwest China's Sichuan Province, killing two people and injuring four others.

The tragedy took place on the first day of the week-long May Day holiday with about one thousand tourists crowding in to the Buddhist temple grounds.

Two of the six people knocked down by the huge tree died later in hospital but the condition of the other four is stable.

The unlucky pilgrims were both from Sichuan. One of them was a devout Buddhist while the other had decided to visit the temple that day, according to local sources.

No other information about the victims has been available so far.

Built in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Gulong Temple is famous for its ancient banyans.