Eight fishermen who had gone missing after Hurricane Barbara hit southern Mexico returned to shore Thursday after riding out the storm by eating shrimp on an island, but authorities were still searching for four other sailors.

Three people died when the hurricane made landfall on the Pacific coast on Wednesday, including a 61-year-old US surfer who was slammed by the waves in Oaxaca state and two men who drowned in swollen rivers.

The 12 fishermen set sail on four boats on Monday and went missing after the storm formed off the coast.

Eight of them made it back safely on two motor boats on Thursday after taking refuge on the island of El Caballar as Barbara sent heavy rains and powerful winds across the area, the Oaxaca state government said on its website.

"They survived by eating the shrimp they had fished on Monday" and drinking their water provisions, it said. A doctor said the men were in good health.

Barbara struck the coast as a category one hurricane out of a five-level scale, flooding the streets of several towns, before losing steam. It was downgraded to a tropical depression on Thursday.