The British anonymous street artist Banksy has financed the German-flagged ship Louise Michel, which will pick up migrants who take a boat across the Mediterranean from North Africa to the EU.

On Friday, more than 130 people were rescued from an inflatable boat that had begun to take in water.

"Among them are many women and children - and no one is helping us!", The crew wrote on Twitter.

They say that one person died on board the boat.

Appealed for rescue

The crew appealed to the authorities in Italy, Malta and Germany to come to the rescue as soon as possible. The UN has issued a call to Mediterranean countries to allow everyone on board Louise Michel and two other lifeboats, a total of over 400 refugees, to land.

Picked up 49 people

On Saturday, the Italian Coast Guard evacuated a total of 49 migrants from the ship, including 32 women and 13 children. The evacuation of the 49 means that about 170 migrants remain on board the 31-meter-long ship, when 89 people were also picked up on Thursday, among them 14 women and two children.

The ship was previously owned by the French customs and now has a famous work by Banksy painted on one side, a girl in a life jacket holding a heart-shaped lifebuoy.