A township head and his deputy have been confirmed dead after they were swept away by flood water on their way to inspect flood control work in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Rescuers found the body of Zhong Weiliang, deputy head of Xinhe Township, Tonglu County, Tuesday morning in the rubble near a bridge, two days after the township head Chen Zhuping's body was retrieved near a wharf, said the county government.

The two, along with a chauffeur, were inspecting flood control work at 11:00 PM last Thursday when their vehicle fell into a swollen river due to a cave-in on the road.

The chauffeur survived but the two officials were missing.

Hundreds of villagers volunteered to join the search for the missing officials. They said the two had been working on the forefront in the fight against flooding.

Xinhe experienced severe flooding last week as Typhoon Morakot brought downpours to parts of China. About 1,200 meters of dikes were damaged with 16 breaches, and crops on 60 hectares were flooded.

(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2009)