At least 10 people were drowned and more than 30 others missing when a boat capsized in Godavari river in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh early Saturday morning, a senior police official said.

The mishap took place near Biyyaputeppa village in the state's West Godavari district, said the official.

"The boat capsized in the middle of the river. All the passengers were drowned. The bodies of 10 people have been recovered but some 30 people are still missing and are feared to be dead," the official said.

A massive rescue operation is underway to fish out those missing, he said, adding that a probe has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.

The toll is expected to go up later in the day, the official added.

Last September, some 40 people were killed in what was then claimed as the country's worst boat tragedy in southern Kerala's Thekaddy lake, when a ferry, carrying mostly tourists from several parts of the country, sank.

In 2007, 15 primary school children and three teachers on an excursion died when their boat sank in a reservoir near Thattekkad bird sanctuary in Ernakulam district in Kerala, southern India.

In 2002, 29 passengers of a ferry met with watery grave in the Vembanad lake between Muhamma and Kumarakom in the same state.