The government-run Xinhua news agency reported Saturday that the bodies were discovered downstream from the area where the tidal current first rose and swept away more than 30 people who were enjoying the water or walking along the levee.

Xie Liewei, deputy magistrate of Jianggan District in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, said the number of victims could rise as the rescue operation continued. All the dead and the missing were believed to be Chinese.

The tidal surge occurred on Thursday when the usually mild tide rushed into the levee.