A catamaran with 31 people on board including 28 tourists from China is believed to have gone missing while en route from the Tanjung Aru jetty here to Pulau Mangalum yesterday.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the catamaran left the jetty at 9am.

"A police report was lodged at 9.50pm," MMEA said in a statement here today.

MMEA said a search and rescue (SAR) mission using its patrol boat Kilat 36 was mounted at 10.15pm yesterday and three more assets - patrol boats Kilat 36 and Kilat 39, ship KM Berani - joined the SAR operation today.

Other agencies involved in SAR mission included the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), which despatched its ship KD Ganas, and the Marine Operations Force (MOF), the agency said.

-- BERNAMA