At least 10 people, including nine children, drowned when a boat capsized Thursday in western India, officials said, with a search on to find more of the missing.

The incident happened in Gujarat state as students were travelling to a picnic organised by their school.

Dozens of people joined a frantic search for survivors around the lake in Vadodara district where the boat capsized.

The victims include children aged as young as 10 along with one of their teachers, a hospital staffer and a district official involved in rescue operations, neither of whom gave their names, told AFP.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear but the district official said 27 people were believed to be aboard.

My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

May the injured recover soon. The local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected.

Vadodara municipal commissioner Dilip Rana confirmed the toll to AFP but did not provide further information on the victims.

Fatal boat accidents are common on Indian waterways.

Last year, at least 22 people were killed when their double-decker tourist boat capsized in the southern state of Kerala.

Survivors of that accident told local media that many of the passengers were not wearing life jackets. (AFP)

Members of Vadodara Fire and Emergency Services conduct search and rescue after a boat capsized at Harni Lake in Vadodara on January 18, 2024.