BRASILIA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 19 people have died and dozens remained missing after a ship carrying about 70 people sank in northern Brazil, local authorities said Wednesday.

The ship sank overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday on the Xingu river in northern Para state in the Amazon region, according to the public security office of the state.

The newspaper, Folha de S.Paulo, reported that the ship left Monday night from Santarem and was heading to Vitoria de Xingu.

An update toll showed that 19 bodies have been recovered by the authorities, 25 people have arrived at the shore and about 30 people are still missing, the local public security office said.

The cause of the sinking remains unknown.

Accidents are frequent as quite a lot of precarious boats are overloaded with passengers on rivers in the Amazon basin, as the most common transportation in the region depends on waterway.

On Aug. 2, a container ship and several rafts collided on the Amazon river, nine people were listed missing.