Mauritania rescues 141 migrants adrift off west African coast

The Mauritanian coastguard on Sunday rescued 141 migrants from a vessel adrift off the west African coast, official sources told AFP.

In recent years Mauritania has become a frequent departure point for African migrants risking the perilous Atlantic route to Europe in often unseaworthy vessels in the hopes of a better life.

"These are 141 illegal immigration hopefuls, including 88 Senegalese, 44 Gambians, of whom 17 are women and two of them children, four Guineans and two Malians," the Mauritanian Ministry of Fisheries said in a statement.

The rescue took place off the coast of the city of Nouadhibou in western Mauritania.

"It was a vessel whose disoriented occupants no longer knew where to go and whose movement was spotted by a sea patrol," a Nouadhibou coastguard official told AFP.

The Fisheries Ministry said the migrants were "taken care of by the relevant services".

In August, at least 69 people were killed and dozens more went missing after their ship capsized off Mauritania.

According to a statement from the migrants, the boat had left The Gambia a week earlier with about 160 people on board.

In late July, Mauritanian authorities said they had rescued several dozen west African migrants after their vessel broke down 11 days after departing Guinea.