A boat capsized in heavy storms in eastern Afghanistan killing eight passengers, with five more still missing in the water, a local official told AFP on Tuesday.

Provincial information department chief Quraishi Badloon said the vessel sank on a river in Kuz Kunar district of Nangarhar province late Monday afternoon.

"There were 17 people on board. Eight are dead, four were rescued and five people are still missing," he said. "The boat capsized due to heavy storms."

Mass casualty transport accidents are common in Afghanistan, where safety measures are lax, infrastructure is poor and overcrowding is common.

Residents in the area where the boat went down regularly use ferries to cross the river because there is no nearby bridge.

In June another boat accident in Nangarhar claimed eight lives, officials said.

It had been overloaded with passengers, causing water to flow in and flood the engine, according to provincial deputy governor Saeed Ahmad Banawri.