SAO PAULO, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Five people have died after a passenger boat caught fire and sank in northern Brazil's Amazon River on Monday, government authorities reported Thursday.

The passenger boat "M. Monteiro" carrying more than 200 people on board caught fire near the municipality of Uarini in the Amazonas state.

The state government reported that two of the injured passengers died in the last few hours, bringing the number of fatalities to five.

Some witnesses suggested that the fire may have been sparked by fireworks, local media said.

This was the second fire involving passenger boats in Amazonas state within three days. Last Saturday, the boat "Comandante Souza III" sank after a fire, in which at least four people died and five were reported missing. Enditem

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