A small fishing boat carrying seven men capsized near Madh Jetty in Malad on Tuesday night. Three of its occupants are missing and efforts are under way to locate them.

According to the disaster management unit (DMU) of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the incident occurred around 11.30 p.m. and was reported to the DMU’s control room around 1.30 a.m. on Wednesday.

“Five labourers working at a fish meal storage godown in Madh Island were going to Versova in a small fishing boat being steered by two local fishermen, when it capsized midway,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone XI) Mohan Dahikar said.

The Mumbai Fire Brigade and the Malwani police rushed personnel to the spot. Four of the boat’s occupants — the two fisherman and two of the five labourers — managed to swim to safety.

“The fire brigade called off the search at 4.30 a.m. and handed over the job to locate the missing people to the Malwani police,” a civic official said.

The three missing labourers have been identified as Nazir Ahmed (59), Mohammad Yousuf Usman (44), and Mohammad Sadiq Qasmani (56), all residents of Versova.