Two Nile river passenger ferries collided on Friday in northern Egypt, with up to 38 people feared missing when one boat broke in half and the other overturned, security and ambulance sources said.

They said at least a dozen people survived the accident near the northern city of Rachid, but there were contradictory reports over how many people may have gone missing.

Security sources put the number of missing people at between 14 and 38, while Egypt's official state news agency quoted the governor of Beheira province as saying that six to eight people were missing. Security sources had earlier put the number at 80.

Public river ferries in Egypt can sometimes be crowded, but authorities do not always record passenger numbers, making an accurate count of the missing difficult.

The two ferries were heading to Rashid city. One was a passenger ferry that broke apart during the accident while the other, carrying both passengers and cars, overturned causing no injuries or fatalities. – Reuters