KHARTOUM, Sudan — Nearly 200 African migrants were feared drowned Tuesday after a boat carrying them to Saudi Arabia caught fire off Sudan’s northeastern coast, a semiofficial news agency reported.

The Sudan Media Center said three migrants were rescued. The boat had launched from Red Sea State, one of Sudan’s 26 states, and sailed for four hours in Sudanese territorial waters before the blaze broke out, according to the news agency.

Local authorities were still searching for possible survivors, it said. The report could not be independently confirmed.

The report said that the planning and execution of the illegal migrant smuggling effort took place in Port Sudan, a main port in the impoverished country. Port Sudan is the capital of the Red Sea State.

The report said the owners of the boat, all Yemenis, have been arrested.