The official MENA news agency said the 43 people died when the ferry overturned in Bani Suwayf province, without reporting any more details.
State television reported that rescue workers were looking for more victims and had transferred survivors to hospital.
But police officials put the toll at 17 dead and said five were still missing.
They told AFP that the ferry was carrying a bus loaded with 32 passengers who were on their way to visit a graveyard. The rest of the passengers survived, they said.
The accident happened almost a year after five people drowned when their ferry capsized in the Nile in the suburbs of Cairo.
Transport accidents are common in Egypt and are often blamed on poor maintenance and neglect.(*)
(U.KR-PPT/H-AK)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
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