Egypt has offered its deepest condolences to Brazil after two separate boat wrecks last week that left at least 41 people dead, according to an Egyptian foreign ministry statement late on Saturday.

"Egypt’s government and people stand side by side with the government and people of Brazil in this difficult time," the statement read.

On Tuesday, a boat named Captain Ribeiro sank on the Xingu River. It had 49 people on board, of whom 23 were rescued, 19 drowned and seven remain missing.

In separate incident, the Brazilian navy said that 22 people died when a ferry sank early on Thursday off the northeastern state of Bahia.