09/11 Alarm Phone alerted to 4 Emergency Situations in the Aegean Sea, near Kastellorizo, Lesvos, and Limnos

10.11.2015 / 00:34 / Aegean Sea, Kastellorizo, Lesvos, and Limnos

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 9th of November 2015

Case name: 2015_11_09-AEG124
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 4 distress cases in the Aegean Sea
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Monday the 9th of November 2015, the Alarm Phone was alerted to 4 emergency situations in the Aegean Sea. One group had stranded on a Greek island and was eventually rescued by a Greek police vessel, two groups in distress were rescued by the Turkish coastguards, and one group that had stranded on Lesvos Island was later detected by members of Médecins Sans Frontières.

The first distress alert reached our shift team at 3.16am (case 1). We were informed by a Syrian activist collective about a group of about 40 people, including 2 children, who had stranded on Kastellorizo Island/Greece. They had already called the international emergency number 112 but were unable to communicate with the operator. Our shift team reached out to the police on Kastellorizo which, however, was not available at first and then seemed to not understand English and closed the call. At 3.42am, the people on the island informed us directly about their situation. They were unable to move on, were wet and freezing. Again we tried to contact the police on Kastellorizo and the police officer there did not seem to speak English or was unwilling to do so. We then sent a fax in Greek to the police station, informing them about the group and passed on their GPS position. At 4.08am we reached the group again and informed them that the police had been notified. We then learned that the group had seen a police vessel that, however, disappeared again shortly afterwards. Afterwards, we were not able to get back in contact with the group but a few hours later we found out that they were being picked up by a police vessel.

At 5.18am we were alerted to a vessel in distress between Bedemli/Turkey and Lesvos/Greece (case 2). We were informed about a group of 40 people on a vessel. The engine had broken down and they were already drifting at sea for about 45 minutes. The vessel was still in Turkish waters and after confirming with the travellers that they wanted us to inform the Turkish coastguards, we did so. Despite several attempts, the Turkish authorities could not be reached. Finally, at 5.35am we reached MSRCC Ankara and passed on the details of the case. They asked us to contact them again two hours later. We asked our initial contact person to tell the travellers that the Turkish coastguards were informed. At 7.40am we contacted the Turkish coastguards again and they confirmed that the group had been rescued about 30 minutes earlier.

In the early evening, at around 6.26pm, contact persons informed us about a group of 180 persons (later it turned out to be a much smaller group of 71 persons) on a vessel between Turkey and Limnos/Greece (case 3). Their engine had stopped working and they were drifting already for several hours. Our contact persons asked us to alert the Turkish coastguards. We spoke to the Turkish authorities at 6.47pm and they confirmed that they would investigate the situation. They asked us to call them again two hours later. At 8.53pm, one of the contact persons confirmed that the vessel had been rescued. At 9pm, the Turkish coastguards also confirmed the rescue operation. They were all safe.

At 10pm, we received a Facebook message from a contact person concerning a vessel that had reached the coast of Lesvos (case 4). The group of travellers was disoriented and unable to find a road. We tried to reach the police station in Mthimna but were unable to communicate with them. Our contact person later on informed us that a human rights group had been informed and the group would be picked up in the morning. He also forwarded pictures of the group at 6.10am, showing them around a fire, in wet clothes and with children. For several hours afterwards, no new information about the group could be obtained. At 10am, we were then able to speak to one of the group members in Arabic. He told us that they were 10 adults and 10 children. They were fine but tired as they had walked for hours. Later on, we received the confirmation that they had been found by members of Médecins Sans Frontières.

Additionally at 7.13am, we received a WhatsApp message and when we got in touch with the person she told us that she had been part of a group of 49 people from Iraq who had attempted a sea crossing a week earlier during which 3 people had died. She asked about advice to assure that their next crossing would be safer. We passed on information to her and explained how the Alarm Phone functioned.
Last update: 21:01 Nov 18, 2015
Credibility: UP DOWN 0
Layers »
  • 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