Btlsblog Latest News & Gossip
1 Dead As 219 Migrants Get Stranded At The Middle Of Mediterranean
A rescue boat funded by British street artist Banksy, overloaded with migrants has issued urgent calls for help, saying it is stranded in the Mediterranean.
The boat which started operating last week was named after a French feminist, Louise Michel.
Reuters reports that it is trying to find a safe port for the 219 migrants it has picked up off the coast of Libya since Thursday.
The boat manned by a crew of 10, issued a series of tweets overnight and on Saturday saying its situation was worsening, and appealing in vain for help from authorities in Italy, Malta and Germany.
“We are reaching a state of emergency. We need immediate assistance,” said one tweet, adding that it was also carrying a body bag containing the corpse of one migrant who had died.
Another said the boat was unable to move and “no longer the master of her own destiny” due to her overcrowded deck and a life raft deployed at her side, “but above all due to Europe ignoring our emergency calls for immediate assistance.”
