Boat with 31 mostly Chinese tourists missing in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Chinese state media say a boat carrying 31 people, including more than 20 Chinese tourists, is missing after sailing out from an eastern Malaysian city.

The official Xinhua News Agency cited the Chinese Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah as saying Sunday that the boat lost contact after sailing out on Saturday.

It left Kota Kinabalu in the morning, bound for Pulau Mengalum, an island west of the city.

Xinhua reports that the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said it deployed search and rescue ships and helicopters to the site after receiving a call Saturday night about the boat’s disappearance.

Malaysian newspaper The Star says there are 28 Chinese tourists on the boat.

Calls to the Chinese Consulate rang unanswered Sunday. CBB/rga