At least 17 pilgrims, including nine women, were missing and feared dead after a boat capsized in the Bay of Cambay in Gujarat's Bharuch district, about 100km from Ahmedabad.

The boat carrying 42 people from Katpar to Jageshwar sunk when it was caught in a storm, Bharuch DSP Amarsinh Vasava told PTI on phone.

While 25 people -- 24 men and a woman -- managed to swim ashore, the rest are missing, he said.

Rescue teams had been pressed into service to trace the missing people, Vasava said.