Mediterranean: Banksy's ship calls for help after massive rescue of migrants

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3 min

The humanitarian ship of the famous street artist Banksy is in distress in the middle of the Mediterranean. After a massive rescue of migrants, the ship was immobilized at sea. A migrant died on board.

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The call for help was launched during the night of Friday 28 to Saturday 29 August. Tweets featuring a pink heart-shaped lifeline seem more and more desperate by the hour. After a massive rescue and a death on board, the ship was immobilized at sea. 

“  We repeat, the Louise Michel is unable to move forward in a secure manner and no one comes to our aid,  ” reads the hashtag “MVLouiseMichel”, from the name of the humanitarian ship chartered by the British artist Banksy. He left the Spanish port of Borriana on August 18th.

We repeat, #LouiseMichel is unable to safely move and nobody is coming to our aid. The people rescued have experienced extreme trauma, it's time for them to be brought to a #PlaceOfSafety. We need immediate assistance.

"  We need immediate assistance  ," implored the crew, who plan to disembark their passengers in a safe port and claim to have made several distress calls to the Italian and Maltese authorities - calls that have remained unanswered. “  There is already a dead person on the boat. The others show fuel burns, they have been at sea for days and now they are left behind in an EU search and rescue area  , ”the crew warned.

With now 219 castaways on board, the boat is overloaded, around thirty people rescued also cling to a life raft moored to the ship. Due to its overcrowding on board, the small ship is unable to move.

The “MVLouiseMichel” is still far from the Italian coast - about a hundred kilometers from the island of Lampedusa.

► To (re) read - Migrants: on the Mediterranean, an “  untenable  ” and “  deadly  ” situation

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• International Migration
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