QIONGHAI, Hainan -- Contact with 11 fishermen has been lost after they were intercepted by armed men in the South China Sea on Tuesday morning, local authorities said Wednesday.

They were on board fishing boat Qiongqionghai 09063, which was intercepted by an unidentified armed vessel at about 10 am in waters off Nansha Islands, according to the Tanmen fishing association in Qionghai City, Hainan province.