HANGZHOU, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and 11 others remained missing as of Friday after a tidal current swept away more than 30 people in east China's Zhejiang Province on Thursday.

Rescuers retrieved the bodies of three victims Friday after more than 16 hours' searching efforts, according to the public security bureau of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang.

The missing included a 9-year-old child and the identities of the victims and the missing are still being verified, Qi Yong, an officer with the maritime team under the bureau, told Xinhua.

The missing also included a 10-year-old girl, her father, a 21-year-old university student and a pair of sisters, according to a report on Zhejiang's official news portal (www.zjol.com.cn).

Twenty-two people were rescued after the tide swept away 30 people who were either swimming in the river or walking along a T-shaped levee at the inner part of the Qiantang River mouth on the outskirts of Hangzhou.

The tides on the Qiantang are a peculiar phenomenon, which is always an attraction to tourists. Scientists say that the trumpet-shaped mouth of the Qiantang River helps form the tidal change, which can be as high as 3.5 meters.

The worst tidal accident on the Qiantang River occurred on Oct.3, 1993, when the tidewater swept away 86 people from the levees, leaving 19 dead, 40 missing and 27 injured.