DAKAR, September 4, 2008 (AFP) - The Senegalese navy rescued three people and recovered two bodies after a trawler sank off Dakar, leaving nine still missing Thursday, a military spokesman said.

The Greek-registered trawler capsized Wednesday in the Popenguine area, 70 kilometres (45 miles) east of the capital, Colonel Ousmane Sar told AFP.

He said 14 people were aboard the boat, comprising eight Senegalese, four Gambians, a Sierra Leonean and an Egyptian.

Two Gambians and one Senegalese were saved, while two bodies were recovered by the navy, one of which was identified as the Egyptian passenger, Sar said.

The survivors have been taken to Dakar and admitted to hospital.

Nine people remain unaccounted for and the search for them would continue, the officer said.

According to the Senegalese radio station RFM, the trawler, named Artemis, was on its way to Gambia when the accident happened.