Following the collision between the ferry and a cargo boat on Wednesday night, the passenger boat sustained damage, causing it to sink in the river. Eleven more bodies have been recovered taking the overall death toll to 29, Al Ahram reported.
Authorities put the figure at 21 yesterday, while the health ministry's official toll stood at 18, according to ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar.
But the ministry said that 11 more bodies had been retrieved from the river as the search for the victims continued for a third day.
Locals angered by the deaths and families of those still missing blocked off a main road in the area where the boat sank and chanted anti-government slogans.
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The skipper of the cargo ship has been arrested and ordered to be detained pending probe into the incident.
Boat accidents are not uncommon on the Nile or off Egypt's coast. They are often blamed on rickety crafts or loose enforcement of the law.
The country's deadliest boat accident occurred in February 2006 when a ferry sank in the Red Sea, killing more than 1,000 people.