A refugee rescue boat funded by the street artist Banksy is lying stranded in the Mediterranean Sea amid claims its emergency calls for immediate help have been ignored.
The crew of the Louise Michel claim appeals for assistance have been ignored by the authorities, despite the vessel carrying more than 200 people. One of those on board has died, according to tweets posted from the vessel’s account.
An Italian NGO rescue vessel, the Mare Jonio, was preparing to leave the port of Augusta in Sicily in a mission to rescue the Louise Michel .
In a statement Saving Humans Mediterranea said: “We decided to intervene, anticipating the scheduled start of our Mission 09 by 48 h, because at the moment neither the Maltese nor the Italian authorities are providing the necessary assistance to over 150 people in imminent life danger.
“It will be a long journey and we hope that the military units of the Italian Coast Guard or the Maltese ones decide to intervene first.”
The former French navy boat – named after the legendary anarchist Louise Michel and launched under its new guise last week with a Banksy painting of a young girl holding on to a heart-shaped safety float – was spotted lying off the coast of Malta on Saturday morning.
Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/08/29/banksys-migrant-rescue-boat-overloaded-stranded-sea/
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