Watch the Med

05/01/2024: 17 people arrived on Chios

Sat, 06 Jan 2024 15:49:00 GMT

Watch the Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 5th of January 2024 Case name: 2024_01_05-Eastern Med -004 Situation: 17 people arrived by themselves on Chios, found by Greek authorities and brought to the camp Status of WTM Investigation : Concluded Place of Incident: Eastern Med Summary of the Case: In the morning of the 5th of January 2024, Alarm Phone was alerted to a group of 17 people, including 5 women and 7 children, who had gone into hiding upon arrival on Chios because they were afraid of being pushed back. Our team on duty that morning alerted Greek authorities and other organisations. About 24 hours after the alert, we got informed that the group was found and they were brought to the camp. Twitter: https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1743533443206496494

03/01/2024: 30 people near Lesvos, pushed back to Turkey

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 14:09:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 3rd of January 2024 Case name: 2024_01_03-EASTERN MED - 003 Situation: 30 people near Lesvos, pushed back to Turkey Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Eastern Med Summary of the Case: In the morning of the 3rd of January 2024, the Alarm Phone was alerted by a relative to a boat with 30 people, including 12 children, in distress near Lesvos. The position the relative forwarded to us was in Turkish SAR zone. We were not able to reach the people directly but the relative told us that the people reported that they had been pushed back from Greece. At 07:59 CET we informed the Turkish and the Hellenic coast guards, as well as other organisations about the group. At 08:07 CET we called MRCC Ankara, who stated that they had already been informed about this boat by the Hellenic Coast Guard and had sent out an asset. The found a rubber boat but the operation was still ongoing. At 11:22 CET we called MRCC Ankara again, who confirmed that they picked up 45 people northeast of Lesvos. The Turkish coast guard also confirmed that the phone number from our case matches one of numbers from that boat. We were not able to reach the people later to learn more about the circumstances of the pushback.

02/01/2024: 22 people on Farmakonisi, possibly pushed back to Turkey

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:30:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 2nd of January 2024 Case name: 2024_01_02-Eastern Med - 002 Situation: 22 people on Farmakonisi, possibly pushed back to Turkey Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Eastern Med Summary of the Case: In the evening of the 2nd of January 2024, Alarm Phone was called by a worried relative, who told us about a group of 22 people that had arrived on the small island of Farmakonisi in the morning. The relative did not have contact with them for a while and had no GPS position from the group, but the group told them they were on Farmakonisi and needed medical help and support in applying for asylum in Greece. We were not able to get in direct contact with the group either. At 20:33 CET we informed the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG) and other state authorities and organisations to the group via email. At 20:43 we called the Port Authority of Leros, but the officer told us that they could not help us „with those things“ and we should call again next morning. During the night, neither we nor the relative could reach the people again. In the morning of the 3rd of January at 11:22 CET, we called JRCC Piraeus, who told us that 40 people in a boat had been rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard east of Farmakonisi. At 11:22 CET we called MRCC Ankara, who told us about 2 rescues in the area of Farmakonisi: 24 people in a boat and 8 people in a life raft. We gave the officer on the the phone number of the people on board to check if they are able to match it with that of the rescued people. At 12:35 we called MRCC Ankara again and they told us they could not match the phone number. The fate of the people in distress remains unconfirmed as we have not been able to reach them since the incident. Note: the position indicated here is approximate as we were not able to get an exact position from the group or the relative.

02/01/2024: 36 people on Lesvos, group of 8 split up, all arrived at camp

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:11:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 2nd of January 2024 Case name: 2024_01_02-Eastern Med - 001 Situation: 36 people on Lesvos, group of 8 split up, all arrived at camp Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Eastern Med Summary of the Case: In the early afternoon of the 2nd of January, Alarm Phone was alerted to a group of 36, including 10 young children, who had landed on Lesvos near Tsilia Beach. The group reported that they needed medical care, especially the young children. At 14:40 CET we sent an email to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Hellenic Coast Guard, Hellenic Police and other organisations alerting to the group. At 14:50 CET MSF confirmed via email that a team will go to the group's position to provide assistance. In the next few hours we could not establish contact to the group, but heard from a relative that when MSF arrived, 28 of the people were being taken to a camp by the Hellenic Police, whereas 8 people went in hiding, likely in fear of a pushback from Greek authorities. At 17:58 we sent another email to inform that there were still 8 people on site, including 2 of the children. The relative agreed to tell the people to stay near the road and call the police themselves. At 22:07 CET we called the Lesvos police department to ask about an ongoing search for the group. The communication was difficult but we understood that the police was still searching. At 23:20 CET we forwarded a new position of the group, received by the relative, as they had moved a bit due to network difficulties. In the morning of the next day we learned from people of the first part of the group that the other 8 had also arrived at the camp.

30/07: Boat intercepted off Casablanca

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 11:29:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 30th July 2023 Case name: 2023_07_30-ATL048 Situation: Boat from Casablanca intercepted by the Moroccan navy and returned to Morocco. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Atlantic Summary of the case: On Sunday the 30th of July 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of travellers in distress on their way from Casablanca to mainland Spain. The travellers had left the previous day, and according to the relative they were close to Tarifa at the time they alerted the Alarm Phone. However, we did not have their GPS position and were not able to establish direct contact to the boat. We immediately relayed all the information we had to the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo. Later the same day, we learned that the travellers had been intercepted by the Moroccan navy and brought back to Morocco.

28/07: 5 travellers intercepted in the Alboran Sea

Sat, 29 Jul 2023 11:34:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 28th July 2023 Case name: 2023_07_28-WM047 Situation: Five travellers in distress in the Alboran Sea, intercepted to Morocco. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea Summary of the case: On Friday the 28th of July 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of five men in distress in the Alboran Sea. The travellers had departed in the early hours of the morning from a beach near Al Hoceima on a black rubber boat. We were not able to establish direct contact to the boat and did not know their exact GPS position. However, we immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, relaying all the information we had. We continued trying to reach the travellers without result. Only two days later did we learn from relatives that the travellers had been intercepted by the Moroccan navy and forced back to Morocco.

15/07: 6 travellers arrived to Spain by themselves

Sun, 16 Jul 2023 11:11:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 15th July 2023 Case name: 2023_07_15WM046 Situation: Six travellers in distress in the Alboran Sea, arrived to Spain by themselves. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea Summary of the case: On Saturday the 15th of July 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of six travellers, all men, in distress in the Alboran Sea. The travellers had left from close to Nador on a white rubber boat the previous morning. We were not able to establish direct contact to the travellers, but immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, relaying all the information we had. Salvamento Maritimo confirmed that they would immediately commence a search and rescue operation. After many hours of searching for the travellers without success, we learned from the relatives that the travellers had managed to arrive to a beach in Spain by themselves. We informed Salvamento Maritimo of their arrival. Tweets about the case: https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1680327940477730817

14/07: 21 travellers rescued in the Alboran Sea

Sat, 15 Jul 2023 11:10:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 14th of July 2023 Case name: 2023_07_14-WM045 Situation: 21 travellers in distress in the Alboran Sea, rescued and brought to Spain. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea Summary of the case: On Friday the 14th of July 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 21 travellers, all men, in distress in the Alboran Sea. The travellers had left from close to Al Hoceima on a black rubber boat and were heading towards mainland Spain. The relative had last spoken to the travellers before their departure, and the Alarmphone was neither able to establish contact to the boat. However, we immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo to the situation. In the evening, Salvamento Maritimo told us that they had rescued a boat matching the description we had provided. The rescue was soon after confirmed by the relative.

06/07: 40 travellers in distress between Algeria and Spain, fate unknown

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 11:04:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 6th of July 2023 Case name: 2023_07_06-WM044 Situation: 40 travellers in distress on the way from Algeria to Spain, fate unknown. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea Summary of the case: On Thursday the 6th of July 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of around 40 travellers in distress in the Western Mediterranean Sea. The travellers had left on the 5th of July from around Oran. We were not able to establish direct contact to the boat, but immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, relaying all the information we had. However, we were told that the information we had was insufficient to launch a search and rescue operation. We were never able to obtain more information, neither from relative nor by reaching the travellers. We therefore had to close the case without knowing the fate of the travellers.

05/07: Four people swimming to Ceuta, two pushed back, two arrived

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 10:59:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 5th of July 2023 Case name: 2023_07_05-WM043 Situation: Four people swimming to Ceuta, two pushed back by the Guardia Civil, two arrived in Ceuta. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea Summary of the case: On Wednesday the 5th of July 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of four travellers, all men, who had attempted to swim from the Moroccan town Fnideq to the Spanish exclave Ceuta, the evening before. Since then, the relative had no news from them and we were also unable to reach their phone. We immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo. Later, we learned from the relative that two of the people had been caught by the Guardia Civil and pushed back to Morocco, while the other two had managed to arrive in Ceuta.

04/07: 8 travellers returned to Tangier by themselves

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 10:42:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 4th of July 2023 Case name: 2023_07_04-WM042 Situation: 8 travellers in distress in the Strait of Gibraltar returned to Morocco by themselves. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea Summary of the case: On Tuesday the 4th of July 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team received a direct call from a boat in distress in the Strait of Gibraltar. Onboard were eight travellers who had left from Tanger the same morning. They were travelling on a rubber boat without a motor, so they were attempting to row. We immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, relaying all the information we had. After our first contact the travellers, we were no longer able to reach them. Only in the evening did we manage to establish contact again, and they told us that they had returned to Morocco by themselves as the conditions onboard had been too dangerous. They were all safely back on land.

29/06: 20 travellers rescued to Motril by Salvamento Maritimo

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 10:35:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 29th of June 2023 Case name: 2023_06_29-WM041 Situation: 20 travellers in distress in the Alboran Sea, rescued by Salvamento Maritimo and brought to Motril. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea Summary of the case: On Sunday the 29th of June 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 20 travellers, all men, in distress in the Alboran Sea. The travellers had left from around Al Hoceima the same morning on a rubber boat. We were not able to establish direct contact to the travellers but immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo to the distress case, relaying all the information we had. The following day we learned that the travellers had been rescued by Salvamento Maritimo and brought to Motril.

26/06: 51 people dead in shipwreck in the Atlantic, four survivors back in Morocco

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 10:40:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 26th of June 2023 Case name: 2023_06_26-ATL047 Situation: 55 travellers shipwrecked in the Atlantic Ocean, only four of them surviving. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Atlantic Ocean Summary of the case: On Monday the 26th of June 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 55 travellers, including 11 women and three children, in distress in the Atlantic Ocean. The travellers had left from Guelmin on the 22nd of June on a rubber boat, heading towards Lanzarote. According to the relative, they had been missing since. We were not able to reach the travellers but immediately relayed all the information we had to the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo. In a call to the Guardia Civil they informed us that the travellers had not yet been rescued but that they were searching for them with aircrafts. For several days we remained unable to reach the travellers and did not get a confirmation of their rescue. Eventually, we learned from activists on the ground that the boat had shipwrecked. Only four survivors had been brought back to Morocco where two of them were now in hospital. We are sad and angry to witness yet another tragedy in the Atlantic. All our thoughts and solidarity are with the friends and families of those who lost their lives due to the racist European border regime. Tweets about this case: https://twitter.com/txemita/status/1675433435131789312?s=09

22/06: 59 travellers rescued by Salvamento Maritimo

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 16:11:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 22nd of June 2023 Case name: 2023_06_22-ATL046 Situation: 59 travellers in distress in the Atlantic, rescued by Salvamento Maritimo. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Atlantic Ocean Summary of the case: On Thursday the 22nd of June 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 59 travellers, including seven women and three babies, in distress in the Atlantic Ocean. The travellers had left from Laayoune. We were not able to establish direct contact to the travellers, but received a GPS position from the relative from a couple of hours before. We immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, relaying all the information we had. Later, the relative confirmed that the travellers had been rescued.

22/06: 59 travellers rescued to Gran Canaria by Salvamento Maritimo

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 16:03:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 22nd of June 2023 Case name: 2023_06_22-ATL045 Situation: 59 travellers in distress in the Atlantic, rescued by Salamento Maritimo and brought to Gran Canaria. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Atlantic Ocean Summary of the case: On Thursday the 22nd of June 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 59 travellers, including four women and two babies, in distress in the Atlantic Ocean. The travellers had left from Laayoune. We were not able to establish direct contact to the travellers, but received a GPS position from the relative from a couple of hours before. We immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, relaying all the information we had. Online, we could see that a merchant vessel close to the GPS position we had received was doing a search trajectory. Later, Salvamento Maritimo informed us that they had rescued a boat matching the description we had given them and brought the travellers to Gran Canaria. Soon after, the relative confirmed that the travellers had been rescued.

22/06: 50 travellers rescued to Gan Canaria by Salvamento Maritimo

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 15:55:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 22nd of June 2023 Case name: 2023_06_22-ATL043 Situation: Around 50 travellers in distress in the Atlantic Ocean, rescued by Salvamento Maritimo and brought to Gran Canaria. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Atlantic Ocean Summary of the case: On Thursday the 22nd of June 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of around 50 travellers, including seven women and two children, in distress in the Atlantic Ocean. The travellers had left from Tan Tan the previous day on a gray rubber boat. We were not able to establish direct contact to the travellers but alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, relaying all the information we had. Later, Salvamento Maritimo informed us that they had rescued the travellers and brought them to Gran Canaria.

21/06: 47 travellers intercepted by the Moroccan navy in the Atlantic

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 15:58:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 21st of June 2023 Case name: 2023_06_21-ATL044 Situation: 47 travellers in urgent distress in the Atlantic, intercepted by the Moroccan navy. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Atlantic Ocean Summary of the case: On Wednesday the 21st of June 2023, just before midnight, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 47 travellers, including many women and children, in distress in the Atlantic Ocean. The travellers had left from Tan Tan in the early hours of the morning on a gray rubber boat. We reached the travellers and could hear on the phone that they were panicking, telling us that water was entering the boat and that none of them were wearing life jackets. However, we managed to get their GPS position. We immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo as well as the Moroccan rescue authorities, relaying all the information we had. Soon after, the Moroccan rescue authorities confirmed to us on the phone that the Moroccan navy had commenced a search and rescue operation. Later, the relative confirmed to us that the travellers had been picked up by the Moroccan navy.

21/06: 63 travellers rescued to Gran Canaria

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 15:52:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 21st of June 2023 Case name: 2023_06_21-ATL042 Situation: 63 travellers in distress in the Atlantic, rescued and brought to Gran Canaria. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Atlantic Ocean Summary of the case: On Wednesday the 21st of June 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 63 travellers, including 11 women and a child, in distress in the Atlantic Ocean. The travellers had left from Boujdour on the 19th of June, and according to the relative they were close to Las Palmas. We were not able to establish direct contact to the travellers, but alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, relaying all the information we had. Later, Salvamento Maritimo confirmed that the boat had been rescued and brought to Gran Canaria.

20/06: 36 people died in the Atlantic as their boat capsized. 24 survivors were brought back to Morocco, while the others remain missing

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 15:45:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 20th of June 2023 Case name: 2023_06_20-ATL041 Situation: A boat with around 60 travellers capsized in the Atlantic Ocean. Only 24 survivors were brought back to Morocco. Three corpses were found, the remaining travellers are still missing. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Atlantic Ocean Summary of the case: On Tuesday the 20th of June 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of around 60 travellers, including six women and one child, in distress in the Atlantic Ocean. The travellers had left from Dakhla two days previously at around midnight on a rubber boat. We received their satellite phone number, and immediately called them. On the phone we could hear that the travellers were panicking. They told us that water was entering their boat and that three people had drowned while yet more people had fallen overboard. They were drifting. Despite the difficult communication, we managed to get their GPS position. We immediately relayed all the information we had to the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo. We continued trying to reach the travellers, and topped up their satellite phone credit to enable them to communicate while at sea. Just past midnight, we managed to reach the travellers again. They told us that more people had died and that they were all in danger. They also informed us that they could see a big vessel close by and gave us their GPS position. Again, we relayed all information to Salvamento Maritimo. According to Salvamento Maritimo, the merchant vessel on scene would stand by the travellers until the Moroccan navy arrived. We were not able to reach the Moroccan rescue authorities via phone, but forwarded all the information we had via email. At 09.00 CEST the Moroccan rescue authorities told us that a vessel of the Moroccan navy had picked up 24 travellers and were still looking for more people in the water. Later, we learned that the Moroccan navy had not found more people alive. Three bodies had been recovered. The survivors had been brought back to Boujdour. Two women were among those rescued. The child onboard was not. We are angry and sad to witness yet another tragedy as a result of Europe’s racist border regime. All our thoughts and solidarity are with the friends and families of those who lost their lives as well as with the survivors who had to endure this traumatic event. We demand freedom of movement and safe passages for all! Tweets about this case: https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1671408926942699523 https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1671452303239331840?cxt=HHwWgIC2mfPAmLIuAAAA https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1671630645863362560?s=20

19/06: 57 travellers rescued by Salvamento Maritimo in the Atlantic

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 20:07:00 GMT

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 19th of June 2023 Case name: 2023_06_19-ATL039 Situation: 57 travellers in distress in the Altantic Ocean, rescued by Salvamento Maritimo and brought to the Canary Islands. Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded Place of Incident: Atlantic Ocean Summary of the case: On Monday the 19th of June 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 57 travellers, including four women and two children, in distress in the Atlantic Ocean. The travellers had left from Laayoune the previous day in the early hours of the morning on a black rubber boat. We were not able to establish direct contact to the travellers, but received a previous GPS position from the relative. We immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo to the distress situation, relaying all the information we had. In the night, Salvamento Maritimo informed us that they had rescued the travellers.