15 drowned when boats collided on the Nile in Egypt

People gather along the banks of the Nile River during a search for the victims of a boat accident on the River Nile in the Warraq area of Giza, Egypt, early July 23, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

Egypt's Interior ministry says at least 15 civilians have drowned when a passenger boat traveling down the Nile near Cairo collided with a scow, causing the boat to capsize.

The ministry said the collision late Wednesday damaged the passenger boat, causing it to sink. The ministry said six people have been rescued and the skipper of the scow has been arrested.

The health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar told The Associated Press the rescue efforts continue, hampered by the darkness. Abdel-Ghaffar said only 12 bodies have arrived in the morgues of hospitals nearby.