Banksy-Sponsored ‘Louise Michel’ Boat With Rescued Migrants Asks for Urgent EU Assistance

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The “Louise Michel” boat, which is sponsored by famous artist Banksy to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, has asked the European Union for urgent assistance.

“Alert! #LouiseMichel assisted another 130 people - among them many women & children - and nobody is helping! We are reaching a State of Emergency. We need immediate assistance, @guardiacostiera & @Armed_Forces_MT. We are safeguarding 219 people with a crew of 10. Act #EU, now!” the vessel’s Twitter page said on late Friday.

“Louise Michel” is also said to have a dead person and several injured people on board.

“There is already one dead person on the boat. The others have fuel burns, they have been at sea for days and now they are being left alone in an #EU (!) Search and Rescue Zone. Don't let it become a body count. Do your job. Rescue them,” the ship said.

The vessel has already asked the authorities of Malta and Italy for assistance but has not received it yet.

Europe has been experiencing a migration crisis since 2015 due to the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing crises in their home countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The migrants are trying to reach EU states using various routes, primarily via Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans. Many of them die in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea.