Contact was lost with the seven crew members late Tuesday when they went to rescue a navy patrol boat encumbered by netting off the coast of the capital Nouakchott.

The vessel carrying the seven has "been found" thanks to search operations, the defence ministry said in a statement sent to AFP, adding that the soldiers were "safe and sound" and "out of danger".

The naval patrol boat that became tangled in netting some 48 kilometres (30 miles) off the coast was successfully towed back to port in Nouakchott earlier in the week.

Nets are among the multitude of detritus found in the ocean off the coast of Mauritania and pose significant navigational issues.

Propellers can become tangled in the nets, immobilising boats which then have to send a distress signal for help.

Rescue teams either tow the boat to the nearest port or conduct a complex operation to untangle the propeller.