It was not known whether the Indian, who was listed missing along with eight other foreigners on board -- four Singaporeans, an Indonesian, a Malaysian and Japanese, was among the dead or the person missing.
The tragedy unfolded yesterday when the tugboat with 25 people on board sank with only three people being saved.
Rescuers are still searching the cockpit as well as the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River for the one person missing, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The boat, coded "Wanshenzhou 67", was lifted to the surface of water this morning, 40 hours after it sank in Fubei Channel, near Jingjiang City.
The 30-metre-long boat with a weight of 368 tonnes was built by Anhui Bengbu Shenzhou Machinery Co. Ltd. In October. The company did not report the vessel's route or testing plans to port authorities.
Officials of the Indian Consulate in Shanghai are in touch with local authorities in order to obtain details of the Indian on board the ill-fated boat.