Twenty people, including children, drowned when a boat sank during a river crossing in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday, a provincial official said.

"A boat with women and children on board sank on Saturday morning at 7 am (0230 GMT) in the river in the Basawul area of Momand Dara district" of eastern Nangarhar, said Quraishi Badloon, the head of the province's information department, in a post on social media platform X.

He said five people survived the accident, the cause of which was being investigated.

The Nangarhar Information and Culture Department said the authorities had sent a medical team and ambulances to the area, in a message shared with media.

At least five bodies had been recovered and efforts were underway to find the others, provincial government officials said.

Residents in the area regularly cross the river using boats often in poor condition, as there is no nearby bridge, local media reported.