Johannesburg  - Rescuers were searching for 14 missing passengers and crew members Tuesday after a boat sank off the South African coast in bad weather the previous night.

Two crew members, one of them the captain, managed to swim to the nearest beach, South African radio reported, three others were rescued by helicopters.

However, rescuers said chances for rescuing the other passengers more than 12 hours after the Kingfisher sank were diminishing quickly.

The cause of the accident, which happened near Oyster Bay off South Africa's Eastern Cape province, was not yet known.

According the SAPA news agency, National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Craig Lambinon said Monday rough sea conditions and gale force winds were making search and rescue operations difficult. Lambinon said an overturned life raft had been spotted. (dpa)