An initial investigation showed that eight of the 21 babies wore identification tags on their feet tracing them back to Jining Medical College Hospital in Shandong province, the according to the People's Daily Web site. The other 13 were unidentified.
Three of the eight were admitted to the hospital in critical condition, the report said. It did not say when they were admitted.
Video footage posted online showed interviews with local residents who discovered the bodies covered in plastic trash bags floating near the shore over the weekend.
Calls to the Jining Medical College Hospital information office rang unanswered Tuesday afternoon.
Some of babies shown in the video, ranging from newborns to several months old, wore bluish-green identification tags with their mother's name, their birth dates, measurements and weight, while others were found shrouded in hazardous waste bags.
An official who answered the phone at the Jining Health Bureau confirmed the news, but would not give any details. Like many Chinese officials, he refused to give his name.
