JINAN, Dec. 19 -- Three people were killed and 14 remained missing after a sampan boat capsized off the coast of east China's Shandong Province in a suspected human smuggling case on Thursday night, local police said Friday.

The boat sank at about 20:30 on Thursday in the sea near a port in the city of Rongcheng and all 22 people on board fell into the water, the county public security bureau said in a statement.

Five were saved and three have been confirmed dead. The rest 14 missing are yet to be located.

An initial investigation alleged that the boat was being used for human smuggling.