BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Public Security on Thursday warned the public to be aware of the dangers of visiting remote wilderness areas during the week-long National Day holiday.

The ministry reminded the public to be particularly alert to the risks of changes in the weather and cited two serious tourist accidents this year:

-- Nine Beijing tourists were successfully rescued after their cars ran out of petrol in the Kubuqi Desert, in north China's Inner Mongolia, one of the eight largest deserts of the country, on May. 6.

They drove to the desert from Beijing during the week-long May Day holiday.

-- On Sep. 6, police began searching for six Russian tourists who failed to show up to meet their Chinese interpreter in Hotan, in the northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as scheduled on Sep. 2 after a canoeing expedition on the Yurungkax River.

The rescuers, with the help of the local water conservancy department, found only two survivors and discovered the bodies of three men, while the sixth is still missing. The search continues, according to the ministry.

The National Day holiday begins on Oct. 1.