A boat with some 80 people on board sank Sunday in the Solimoes River in Brazil's northern Amazonas state, killing at least 16, local media reported.

The reports quoted the Department of Fire-Fighters in the city of Manacapuru as saying that some people on board managed to reach the river bank following the sinking. So far, there has been no information about the number of survivors from the accident.

The boat was transporting people from a party and sank near Manacapuru, fire-fighters who took part in the rescue operation were quoted as saying.

A group of 12 divers and about 20 fire-fighters were sent to the place of the accident to search for possible survivors.

The Brazilian navy also sent two motor boats with about eight servicemen to take part in the operation.

Rescue workers had recovered the bodies of 16 people by Sunday evening, reports said. Most of victims were women and several dozen other people were unaccounted for.

The workers blamed a possible overload for the incident as Amazon boats are frequently overloaded with passengers and cargo. An investigation into the cause of the accident is expected to take several months.

On Feb. 21, a boat with about 90 people sank in the Amazonas state, killing 16 passengers.

(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2008)