KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13: Four Malaysians drowned and five others were injured on Saturday when they jumped into the sea after their ferry caught fire, a news report said.

The ferry had been travelling from Mersing on the coast of southern Johor state to the popular holiday island of Tioman when it caught fire, forcing all 98 passengers to jump overboard, The Star newspaper said in its online edition.

Mersing police chief Harun Arshad was quoted as saying that fishing boats, tourist craft and marine police were dispatched to the scene following a distress call, and that they rescued 94 people.

Rescuers discovered the bodies of four ethnic Chinese, ages 52 to 68, he said in the report.

Five other local people, including two children, were injured and have been hospitalized, the report said.

The newspaper quoted Harun as saying the search and rescue operation was continuing, as police believed there could have been several other people on the ferry who were not listed on the passenger list.

The report did not say what might have caused the fire or whether the ferry sank. Harun and other Johor police officials could not immediately be reached for comment.—AP