Fifteen people have drowned after an unlicensed ferry capsized in Egypt's Nile river north of Cairo overnight, the government says.

Officials said the boat plunged into the Nile Friday night while ferrying passengers between the villages of Sendion in Kafr el-Sheikh Province and Derot in Beheira Province.

Three survivors of the accident were hospitalized. According to officials, the boat was carrying 18 people although its maximum capacity was seven passengers and its licence had expired.

Enraged villages converged on the banks of the Nile after the incident but police forces “contained the situation,” the official MENA news agency said.

Kafr el-Sheikh Governor Nasr el-Sayed said official probes will reveal whether the small vessel sank due to taking an excessive number of passengers on board or inclement weather conditions.

Egyptian Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali ordered the payment of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (nearly $1,300) to each family of the victims and $255 to those injured in the incident.

The accident came as heavy rains and cold temperatures struck the populous African country on Thursday, causing a number of traffic accidents nationwide.

Egypt often experiences transportation accidents, chiefly due to the poor maintenance of roads and other transportation systems as well as a lack of clear regulations.

Boat collisions and capsizings are also common in the country. Last July, a passenger boat struck a scow, causing the vessel to capsize and drowning 35 people on board.

In 2006, a much larger ferry vessel sank in the Nile, killing more than 1,000 passengers and crew members.