28/10: 35 travelers sinking near Bodrum, brought back to Turkey by Turkish Coastguard

29.10.2019 / 13:07 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 28th of October 2019

Case name: 2019_10_28-AEG606
Situation: 35 travelers sinking in Turkish waters near Bodrum, some fell into the sea, rescued by Turkish coastguard, brought back to Turkey.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case:

On 28 October 2019, at 11:21pm CET the Alarm Phone was informed by a relative about a group of 35 travelers whose boat was already sinking, and people had fallen into the sea. We received a GPS location situated in Turkish territorial waters near Bodrum. We tried to establish a direct contact to the people but as we could not reach them, we informed the Turkish coastguard via phone call at 11:28pm. At 11:42pm we managed to communicate with the travelers and received a new GPS location, which we sent to the Turkish coastguard via e-mail. At 11:43pm we talked to the travelers on the phone and they were in great panic and screaming for help. We received a new location from them via WhatsApp and sent a message telling them we had informed the Turkish coastguard. We sent another e-mail to the coastguard informing them about the new GPS location and how urgent the situation was. At 11:47pm we received the news from the relative that had alerted us in the beginning that the Turkish coastguard had arrived on scene. We sent a message to the travelers’ phone to ask for a confirmation, but they were offline. At 00:28am we called the Turkish Coastguard and they confirmed that they had rescued the people, and everyone was safe. We informed the relative about this.

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