08/09: 30 people stranded on Oinousses, rescued to Greece

09.09.2019 / 12:12 / Aegean

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 8th of September 2019
Case name: 2019_09_08-AEG569
Situation: 30 people stranded on Oinousses, rescued to Greece
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean

Summary of the Case:
On the 8th of September at 5:34am CEST the Alarmphone shiftteam was alerted to a group of 30 travellers stranded on Oinousses, north-east of Chios. The group had split up and it took some time to understand the situation. At 6:11am we alerted the Greek coastguard. At 8:20am the Greek authorities confirmed the rescue of the first group of 21 travellers. At 1pm all travellers arrived safely on Chios.

At 5:34am the shift team was alerted to a group of 30 people who were stranded on Oinousses island, north east of Chios. We were told that the group had split and were sent two different coordinates for the travellers, both showing them to be on shore. At 6:11am we contacted the Greek coastguard in Pireus and informed them of the case. They were already aware and said that they would send a boat once it was light. At 8:20am they had found 21 people from the group and were still searching for the remaining 9. At 1pm we learned that all the people had been rescued to Chios.

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