A relative of a U.S. men's volleyball coach was stabbed to death and another family member injured in an attack in Beijing on Saturday, the U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement.

"While at the Drum Tower in central Beijing, the two family members were stabbed during an attack by what local law enforcement authorities have indicated was a lone assailant. One of the family members was killed and the other seriously injured."

"Following the attack, the assailant took his own life."

A Chinese tour guide was also injured in the attack carried out by a Chinese man. Assaults on foreigners are rare in Beijing, site of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Tang Yongming, 47, from the eastern city of Hangzhou, jumped to his death from the second storey of popular tourist spot Drum Tower after the incident, the official Xinhua news agency cited a Beijing city government spokesman as saying.

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman confirmed the attack occurred shortly after noon, but did not reveal the identities of the victims or other details.

"We're actively following the situation right now and U.S. Embassy officials are already at the hospital," a U.S. embassy spokeswoman said.

She said embassy officials had been dispatched to the Beijing hospital where the surviving tourist, a woman, and the local tour guide had been rushed.

Beijing has been calm in the run-up to the Summer Games, with security tight across the capital and thousands of security officials patrolling Games venues and streets.

A crowd had gathered around the Drum Tower, in bustling central Beijing, which had been closed off by police.