The bodies of 21 babies have been discovered washed ashore along a river in east China and authorities suspect they were dumped there as "medical waste" by local hospitals.

An initial investigation has shown that eight of the 21 babies wore identification tags on their feet tracing them back to a hospital in nearby Shandong province.

The other 13 were unidentified.

State media has reported that three of the eight had originally been admitted to the hospital in a critical condition.

Video footage posted on the website of a local TV station showed the bodies of babies lying on the shore.

The report says some babies were wrapped in plastic bags, at least one of which had "medical waste" written on it.

Some reports say the bodies could have been those of aborted foetuses or babies who had died of illness.

The Xinhua news agency says the bodies have been cremated.

It says the babies' families had paid two hospital mortuary workers to dispose of the bodies but they instead dumped them in the river.

The workers have been detained.