The Louise Michel, funded by the British street artist Banksy, had issued a call late on Friday, saying its seaworthiness was compromised after rescuing 219 people across two days. 

The Italian coastguard has picked up 49 vulnerable people from a charity rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea after the humanitarian vessel sent out a distress call.

"There is already one dead person on the boat. We need immediate assistance," the Louise Michel crew had written on Twitter, saying other migrants had fuel burns and had been at sea for days. It also said European rescue agencies had so far ignored its distress calls.