A boat carrying 31 people, including 28 Chinese tourists, has gone missing off the coast of Malaysia, maritime authorities say.

The boat left the capital of Malaysia's eastern Sabah state, at about 9 a.m. local time on Saturday.

The boat, which was carrying 28 people from China, a skipper and two crew members, sailed out from Tanjung Aru to the popular tourist spot of Pulau Mengalum island, about 60km west of Kota Kinabalu, at 9am yesterday.It was reported as missing at 9.50pm when it failed to arrive.

Bad weather is hampering the search operation that is underway, said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

The Malaysian navy, maritime police and air force are involved in the search, which covers an area of 400 nautical square miles.