The Aba prefecture emergency response office said in a statement that the bodies were found inside a bus in a river valley in Zhangzha. It did not give more details about what had happened to the vehicle.

The statement said at least 493 were injured in Tuesday's 6.5-magnitude earthquake, which struck Jiuzhaigou, a popular tourist destination with a national park, forested mountains and over 140 lakes that has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

More than 70,000 people have been evacuated from quake-hit towns and villages, state media reported.

The tremor evoked memories of a devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake in the region in 2008 that left 87,000 people dead or missing.