A boat carrying 31 people, among them more than 20 tourists from China, has lost contact with the authorities since it sailed out from Kota Kinabalu (KK) in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on Saturday, the Consulate General of China in KK said on Sunday.

A statement from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the boat, with three crewmembers on board, sailed out at 9:00 a.m. local time on Saturday from Tanjung Aru to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km west of KK.

The MMEA received a call about the boat's disappearance on Saturday night, and then sent out rescue ships and helicopters to the site for rescue, Xinhua reported.