Four people died and four were injured Saturday when a fire broke out on a ferry travelling from the popular Malaysian tourist island of Pulau Tioman, the state Bernama news agency said.

The ferry was bound for Mersing, a port town on Malaysia's east coast which is the main gateway for trips to the holiday island.

Bernama said the ferry carrying 100 passengers was seven nautical miles from Tioman when the fire occurred.

It cited a Mersing police spokesman as saying the dead and injured had been taken to a local hospital and that they were gathering information on the victims.

It did not say whether the victims were Malaysians or foreigners.