Eight people are missing after a fishing boat sank off the coast of south China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday, said local maritime authorities.

Three out of 11 crew members aboard the shipwreck coded "Fuyuanyu 680" had been rescued as of 1 p.m., while the others remain missing, said Zhuang Zeping, deputy director of the provincial maritime search and rescue center.

The vessel, registered in east China's Fujian Province, was en route to Indonesia from Zhejiang Province. It sank in waters near Guangdong's Shanwei City, Zhuang said.

By noon, the center had dispatched 10 rescue vessels and a helicopter to search for those missing. Two dozen commercial ships and fishing boats were also mobilized to join the operation.

The accident comes shortly after another maritime incident where 12 crew members were saved after their cargo vessel, which was stranded on Oct.24, began flooding, forcing them to abandon ship and float in the sea for hours before rescue.