Bad weather has hampered search effort for the boat carrying mostly Chinese tourists that went missing off Malaysia's Sabah state, authorities said Sunday.

Senior official of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Rahim Ramli said the rescue personnel faced strong winds and choppy waters, according to the local Star newspaper.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said the boat was carrying 31 people, include 28 tourists from China. It sailed out at 9:00 a.m. local time on Saturday from Sabah's state capital of Kota Kinabalu to Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60 km to the west.

The Chinese Consulate General's office has confirmed at least some 20 passengers are Chinese citizens.

The MMEA received a call about the boat's disappearance on Saturday night and a search and rescue operation was launched to cover an area of 400 square nautical miles. The operation was jointly conducted by MMEA, the Malaysian Navy and Air Force.

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