"The boat was carrying passengers three times its actual capacity," he said, as officials speculated the ferry was carrying as many as 250 to 300 people.
So far 65 bodies have been recovered, a rescue official said, with the toll expected to rise further.
Some 64 survivors were admitted to various hospitals, a government official said, adding that 15 of the bodies have been identified.
The accident occured in Vembanad lake at about 5:30 am (0000 GMT) when the boat was on its way from Muhamma to the popular tourist resort of Kumarakom, in Kerala's Kottayam district.
The boat belonged to the Kerala State Water Transport Department and capsized after about 35 minutes into the trip, the official said.
"The boat tilted to a side suddenly and passengers panicked, running around," one panic-struck survivor said.
"The passengers rushing around resulted in the driver of the boat losing control and it turned turtle within five miniutes," the survivor said, adding that the ferry was in the middle of the lake when it sank.
"Some of the passengers who jumped into the lake were rescued by fishermen returning from their morning catch," another passenger said.
The boat's morning run to Kumarakom, where Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee spent a holiday two years ago, carries mainly fishermen headed for the market there.
But on Saturday, it was carrying more people than usual, mostly local youth on their way to a government recruitment exam, the official said.
According to P. Shankar, a Kerala government minister, a number of people had been rescued but "some of them were in a critical condition and have been admitted to local hospitals".
The Kerala government has announced payments of 50,000 rupees (1,020 dollars) to the next of kin of those dead in the boat tragedy.
Rescue operations were being spearheaded by local villagers, with fishermen pulling out most of the bodies and ferrying them to shore in their own fishing boats.
Indian navy divers have also reached the spot and are helping locals recover bodies, a rescue official said.
The divers were using dredges to lift the boat which had sunk to the bottom of the lake, the rescue official said.
Naval helicopters were hovering over the lake in search of bodies and possible survivors, he said.
A senior official in Kerala, Chandrasekharan Nair, said the administration had set up a crisis management cell to coordinate rescue work at the site.
"The relief and rescue work was in full swing at Kumarakom," Nair was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.
According to local officials, Saturday's boat accident was the worst in Kerala's recent history.
Ferry accidents are a common phenomenon in South Asia, with most caused by overcrowding of the boats.
KUMARAKOM, INDIA, 27-JUL-2002: The rescue operations of a boat which sank in Vembanad Lake, about 12 miles from the city of Kumarakom, July 27, 2002. At least 65 people drowned when the boat, packed beyond its 100-passenger capacity, sank in a lake located in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
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