75 people in distress near Lesvos Island, Greece, all rescued

20.08.2015 / 11:15 / Lesvos Island, Greece

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations - 19th of August 2015

Case name: 2015_08_19-AEG47
Situation: Group of 75 travellers in distress, all rescued
Status of WTM Investigations: Concluded
Place of Incidents: Aegean Sea

Summary of the case: On Wednesday the 19th of August 2015, at around 12.25pm, the Alarm Phone was contacted by someone who passed on a phone number and GPS coordinates of a vessel in distress near the island of Lesvos, Greece. Information on the exact situation were limited and, at first, the group of travellers could not be reached. The Greek coastguard noted down the information we provided and told us that they would look into the situation.

At approximately 2.30pm, they called us back and said that they had been able to reach the travellers but needed someone who spoke Arabic to communicate with them. One of our Arabic speaking members then tried to get hold of them but was unable to reach them. At about 3.12pm we learned from our initial contact person that the group was safe and shortly afterwards we were able to speak to them directly. They were 75 people on board, including 13 children and 8 women. Water had started to enter their vessel but now they had been rescued and were in Greece. Shortly afterwards we passed these information on to the Greek coastguards.

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