Chennai, Dec 25 (IANS): At least 13 people were killed when a boat carrying 25 passengers capsized in Pulicat Lake in Tamil Nadu's Thiruvallur district near here Sunday, police said. Three children have been rescued, while search is on for the remaining passengers.

According to initial information, a group of people from Chennai, most of them relatives, had gone on a boat ride in the afternoon.

The fibre boat, used for fishing, appears to have capsized at the mouth of the lake, where it meets the sea.

According to fishermen at the site, the boat might have overturned due to a sudden big wave.

Thirteen bodies have been recovered so far, police said.

Fishermen, fire service personnel and police are involved in the search operations.

The accident spot can be reached only be a boat and bad light is hampering the rescue work, officials said.

Police said villages along the coast have been alerted to be on the lookout for any body washed ashore.

Pulicat is the second largest brackish water lake in India, located on the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border, some 60 km from here.