KUALA LUMPUR?- A vessel with eight Chinese tourists on Tuesday was stranded in Malaysia's Sabah waters after losing power on its way back from the Mantanani Islands to Kota Kinabalu, the state's capital.

According to the Chinese Consulate in Kuching, there were eight Chinese tourists on the vessel, including three children, with one or two crew members. Sabah's police had received the signal of the boat and were on their way to rescue the tourists.

A friend of a tourist onboard the vessel told Xinhua that the name of the boat is Times World, and it lost power on its way back.

"We contacted the maritime police at 4 pm local time, who said that the vessel's captain had already reported to the police, " he added.

However, it was dark and the weather was not very good, which hindered the search and rescue efforts from the police, an official from the Chinese Consulate in Kuching told Xinhua.

The Chinese Consulate has urged the Sabah police to intensify their search and rescue operations.