The identities of the bodies could not be immediately confirmed. Earlier in the day, rescuers pulled five survivors and one body out of the river.

The accident occurred at around 11:00 a.m. on the Xinjiang River in Yugan County, Shangrao City of eastern Jiangxi, when a bus with a seating capacity of 19 was boarding the ferry.

Local rescuers said the bus drove onto the stationary ferry but, instead of braking, carried on moving and plunged into the river. It is not yet known why the driver failed to stop.

"According to witnesses, 20 to 30 passengers were on board, including children going to summer school, and we don't know the exact figures yet," said Wang Xiaoyan, director of the county government's publicity department." The bus was heading from the downtown area to the suburbs of Heshan Township.

The windscreen of the bus had broken so there may be other passengers in the river, Wang said. Four marine boats are searching for other missing passengers in the river.

Huang Gewei, a resident from the nearby Xinfeng Township, said his son, Huan Yangyang, 12, was on the bus and he did not know whether he was among the bodies recovered or still missing.

Another resident called Wang Zhenghui said his 29-year-old sister, who was three months pregnant, and his eight-year-old nephew Wang Putian were also on board.

Hong Lihe, a vice governor in Jiangxi province has arrived in Yugan to direct the rescue work.

The Xinjiang River runs about 400 kilometers from the Huaiyu Mountain in eastern Jiangxi and flows into the Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake in northern Jiangxi.