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Three British tourists are missing after a scuba diving boat they were cruising in caught fire off Egypt’s Red Sea coastline on Sunday, The Guardian reported, citing local authorities.

A further 12 British nationals were rescued along with 12 Egyptian crew members and were brought to safety at the nearby diving resort of Marsa Shagra, about 13 miles (21km) north of the town of Marsa Alam, according to a statement from the Red Sea State governor’s office and security sources.

The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit on the boat, which was named Hurricane and had been used for a trip since 6 June in an area just north of Marsa Alam, the statement said.

A spokesperson for Tornado Marine Fleet, the company operating the diving boat, said the incident occurred at Elphinstone, a reef 12km offshore known as a spot for diving with sharks.

“Today at 6.30am at Elphinstone, while doing the diving briefing, Hurricane caught fire,” they said.

“There are three missing British passengers out of 15 passengers. All other 12 passengers plus two guides and 12 crew were transported to another boat and reached the nearest land safely. Now, we are bringing the boat back to the marina under authority supervision.”

Mohamed Bendary, secretary general of Egypt’s Red Sea governorate, said preliminary investigations indicated that the fire had started in the boat’s engine room. Egypt’s public prosecution office was investigating the incident, he added.

A search party has been launched to find the remaining three British tourists, whose identities were not revealed.