BRASILIA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed and about 40 others have been missing when a passenger ship with about 70 people on board sank in northern Brazilian state of Para in the Amazon region, said local authorities.
The ship, Ribeiro Commander, sank between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning on the Xingu river near the city of Porto de Moz, according to the public security office of the state.
Seven bodies had been recovered by the authorities, 25 people had arrived at the shore and the rest nearly 40 are still missing, the local public security office said in a statement.
The cause of the sinking is still unknown.
Accidents in the rivers in the Amazon region, where much of the transportation is done through waterway, are frequent due to the precariousness of many of the boats overloaded with passengers.
