25/08: 27 travelers stranded on Symi island

26.08.2019 / 21:29 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 25th of August 2019

Case name: 2019_08_25-AEG563
Situation: 27 travelers stranded on Symi island, rescued by Greek authorities
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case:

On Sunday, 25th of August at 08:56pm CEST the Alarm Phone received information about a group of around 30 travelers in distress and a GPS location via a contact person. We could not establish a direct contact to the travelers and at 09:11pm we informed the Greek coastguards central office in Piraeus. At 09:16pm we received a new GPS location very close to the northern beach of Symi island and sent an e-mail to the Greek authorities with the new location and the collected information. At 09:31pm we were contacted by the Greek coastguards who asked for current GPS locations, because if the group had arrived on the land there were different operational forces in charge. We agreed on updating them if we had new information.
At 09:43pm our contact person informed us that the whole group had reached the shore of Symi safely. We tried to establish a direct contact to the travelers during the night but only got in touch with them at 04:20am. They confirmed they were on Symi, but the group had split up and they only were 10 people there. They said they needed help and we advised them to call the authorities on the island and passed them the numbers of the coastguards, the police and the port police. We also informed the coastguards in Piraeus about the stranded persons and passed the latest GPS location. They said the rescue operation could only start when there was daylight. We informed the travelers about this. At 08:42am we received the information that the authorities on Symi found a group of 15 people and would inform us if they found more. We continuously tried to get in contact with the travelers but without success during the next days and only at 09:59am on August 28 we received a direct confirmation of the travelers that the whole group (27 instead of 30 people) was safe.

Last update: 09:05 Sep 05, 2019

Credibility:

Border police patrols
While the exact location of patrols is of course constantly changing, this line indicates the approximate boundary routinely patrolled by border guards’ naval assets. In the open sea, it usually correspond to the outer extent of the contiguous zone, the area in which “State may exercise the control necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws” (UNCLOS, art. 33). Data source: interviews with border police officials.
Coastal radars
Approximate radar beam range covered by coastal radars operating in the frame of national marine traffic monitoring systems. The actual beam depends from several different parameters (including the type of object to be detected). Data source: Finmeccanica.
Exclusive Economic Zone
Maritime area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which the coastal state exercises sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, the seabed and its subsoil and the superjacent waters. Its breadth is 200 nautical miles from the straight baselines from which the territorial sea is measured (UNCLOS, Arts. 55, 56 and 57). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans
Frontex operations
Frontex has, in the past few years, carried out several sea operations at the maritime borders of the EU. The blue shapes indicate the approximate extend of these operations. Data source: Migreurop Altas.
Mobile phone coverage
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network coverage. Data source: Collins Mobile Coverage.
Oil and gas platforms
Oil and gas platforms in the Mediterranean. Data source:
Search and Rescue Zone
An area of defined dimensions within which a given state is has the responsibility to co-ordinate Search and Rescue operations, i.e. the search for, and provision of aid to, persons, ships or other craft which are, or are feared to be, in distress or imminent danger. Data source: IMO availability of search and rescue (SAR) services - SAR.8/Circ.3, 17 June 2011.
Territorial Waters
A belt of sea (usually extending up to 12 nautical miles) upon which the sovereignty of a coastal State extends (UNCLOS, Art. 2). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans