Three crew members including one Senegalese national perished and the fourth went missing after their boat sank in the Mauritanian waters near Nouadhibou, the economic capital, a security source told Xinhua on Monday.

"A Senegalese national called Moussa Guey was among those who perished," the source said in reference to Sunday's wreckage.

While the captain of the boat, a Mauritanian national, remained missing, the bodies of the other victims were taken to a mortuary in Nouadhibou for an autopsy.

The trawler owned by a businessman sank 19 miles (30 km) from the Nouadhibou port.

The maritime security source said the captain had raised an alarm which enabled the rescue teams to get 18 other crew members out of danger.

A source at the port said the ship left the port on Saturday with 22 people on board, including four foreigners.