The British street artist Banksy has accused European officials of ignoring maritime distress calls from non-Europeans after he helped fund a rescue vessel to deliver humanitarian aid to migrants who have been stranded in the central Mediterranean for days. Hundreds of migrants were transferred to several rescue ships on Saturday as international aid groups urged European officials to let them come ashore. One of the vessels, the Louise Michel, was funded by Banksy. According to a series of posts on the Louise Michel’s Twitter account, the ship set out on Thursday to help 89 people on a rubber dinghy. At that point, with more than 200 people aboard, the Louise Michel’s crew of 10 could no longer steer the ship and issued a distress call.

Source: International New York Times August 30, 2020 16:30 UTC