Mauritania coastguard rescues more than 300 migrants in Atlantic

Published on

21/08/2026 - 13:25 GMT+2

Mauritania's coastguard said on Friday it had rescued more than 300 migrants, including 40 children, from an overloaded boat drifting off the west African country's Atlantic coast.

In recent months, hundreds of migrants, mostly from Senegal, The Gambia and Mali, have been rescued in Mauritanian waters while attempting the journey to Europe but hundreds have died or gone missing after their boats sank.

The migrants were "in a difficult humanitarian situation" when they were picked up during the night of Wednesday to Thursday, the coastguard said in a statement.