Hundreds stranded on Banksy-funded migrant rescue boat transferred to safety

The vessel, which had a dead body onboard, was left stranded off the coast of Malta for around 12 hours into Saturday, organisers said.

According to the reports published in  news.sky.com the Italian Coastguard told Sky News it had stepped in to transfer 49 of the “most vulnerable” on board to safety on Saturday afternoon.

The coastguard also collected the body of the male who died before the Louise Michel could reach a rubber boat a day earlier, the crew of the Louise Michel said.

Another humanitarian ship called Sea-Watch 4 has since taken all the remaining people on board, they added.

A tweet from the Louise Michel account said: “Just transferred all remaining guests onto #SeaWatch4, who now have about 350 people on board. It’s not over: We demand a Place of Safety for all survivors, now.”