Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 3rd of December 2015

Case name: 2015_12_03-AEG146
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to XXX distress cases in the Aegean Sea
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Thursday the 3rd of December 2015, the Alarm Phone was alerted to 10 distress situations in the Aegean Sea. While 3-4 vessels reached Greek islands independently, 2 vessels were rescued by Greek coastguards and 3 by Turkish coastguards. One large group that stranded on the Greek island of Pasas was successfully transferred off the island by Greek authorities.

At approximately 2am, our shift team received several distress calls from a boat in the Aegean Sea (case 1). At 2.12am we were able to obtain their GPS position, showing them still in Turkish waters. Communications were difficult but we received a second position about 30 minutes later, this time showing them in Greek waters. We then notified the Greek coastguards at 2.51am who told us that the travellers should call them directly. They also refuse to note down their GPS coordinates. We sought to advise the travellers to reach out directly. However, already at 3.09am they called us to confirm that they had independently and safely reached Kos Island.

At 3.21am we received a Facebook message from a Syrian activist who informed us about a vessel in distress near Chios Island, at risk of capsizing (case 2). The inflatable boat was pierced and had engine problems. With the GPS coordinates we located them near the island and then reached out to the Greek coastguards who, again, refuse to take down any information from us but ask for the people to contact them directly. Our contact person then told us that the people had run out of credit and could thus not call the coastguards. We informed the Chios Port Authorities at 3.35am and once again the coastguards at 3.49am who both confirmed that they would take on the case. Afterwards we received the information that two people had gone overboard which, however, could not be verified. The coastguards stated that they had been unable to find the vessel at the given position. It seemed as if the boat had succeeded to arrive on land independently. Both our shift team and our contact person lost contact to the travellers so that it could not be fully confirmed that they safely reached the island. A day later we received the information that the two people who had gone overboard were alive and receiving treatment in a hospital.

At 3.48am we were informed about a group of about 55 people, including many children, who were trying to reach Chios Island (case 3). This did not seem to be an urgent distress case but we promised to stay in touch and monitor the situation. Later on we were informed through our contact person that the group safely and independently reached the island.

At 5.09am we received a distress message via WhatsApp concerning a vessel in distress in Turkish waters (case 4). The vessel was trying to reach Chios Island, carrying about 40-45 people on board. The contact person asked us to inform the Turkish coastguards and we did so at 5.41am. They took down the details that we passed on. Then for several hours no new information about this group could be obtained. In the meantime we received other distress messages that forwarded the exact same GPS position so that we assumed that they were informing us about the same situation. We learned later on through the contact person that the vessel had been found and the group was safely returned to Turkey.

At 6am we received direct call from people in distress (case 5). We were able to connect with them via WhatsApp and they passed on a GPS position which, however, showed them on mainland Turkey. Unsure whether this was their correct position, we advised them to call the international emergency number 112 if they needed help. We found out that this was the same case as was forwarded to ours shift team by a contact person. With an updated GPS position we contacted the Turkish coastguards who confirmed that they had already received information about this boat and had in fact detected it already. Later on we learned through our contact person that the group had been safely returned to Turkey.

A few minutes past 6am, we received a case via Facebook (case 6). We contacted the group on the boat that was trying to reach Chios Island but they, clearly in panic, were unable to pass on important information to our shift team. We contacted the Greek coastguards and passed on their GPS position. We then were informed that the group had reached the island independently.

At 6.30am we were contacted by someone whose relative had left Izmir and was trying to reach one of the Greek islands (case 7). He then contacted us again and passed on the GPS position of the vessel, also stating that their engine had broken down. Already a few minutes later, however, he informed us that the group was back on land. It is not clear whether they moved back independently or whether the Turkish coastguard rescued them.

At 9.44am we were informed by Syrian activists about a boat in distress, carrying about 35 people and trying to reach Chios (case 8). They told us that the vessel was at risk of capsizing as the waves were high. We alerted the Greek coastguards at 9.53am who said that they would look into the case. At 11.20am we received the confirmation via the activists that the people had been rescued to Greece.

At 6.05pm we received details about a distress situation via contact persons, telling us about a vessel in severe distress off the coast of Turkey, northwest of Lesvos Island (case 9). We tried to reach the Turkish coastguards several times but without success. We reached the travellers at 6.17am who informed us that they were about 40 people who were about to capsize. Finally, at about 6.25am we reached the regional coastguards in Canakkale who confirmed that they would look into the situation. At 6.30pm the Turkish coastguards confirmed that they had sent out a rescue vessel. At 7.02pm, our initial contact person confirmed that the vessel had been rescued by the Turkish authorities. Later on we also received direct confirmation from the travellers via WhatsApp: "Thank God the Turkish Coastguard came and saved us".

At 7.35pm we received a WhatsApp message from an activist friend who forwarded information about a vessel in distress, north-east of Lesvos (case 9). We reached the travellers directly at 7.41pm who informed us that they were 60 people on board, including 20 children. They were not in immediate distress but wanted us to stay in touch with them. We passed on the phone number of the Greek coastguards to them and received updates from them regularly. At 8.12pm we spoke to the Greek coastguards and passed on the details of the case. They said that they had already received information about this case and had sent out a rescue vessel. The travellers informed us at 8.26pm that the Greek coastguards had arrived and shortly afterwards we received the confirmation that they had been rescued.

Shortly before midnight we were told by a Syrian activist that he had been informed about a group that had stranded on Pasas Island (case 10). They were 6 children, 6 men and 7 women in need of support. We could not reach them directly but our contact person sent us updates regularly. At 1.15am he told us that another group had just arrived, with 8 women, 2 children and 7 men. He told us at 1.53am that they were moving on the island and had found a building where they had encountered other people. We informed the UNHCR about the group via email and then received a WhatsApp message from the group at 4.06am, asking us for help. They told us at 5.15am that they were in an empty church and were freezing. We then learned that there was a large group waiting in the church, up to 125 people. We contacted the Chios Port Authority who confirmed that they had heard about this case and said that a rescue vessel from Chios was on its way to Pasas. At noon we were informed that part of the group had been rescued already while others had to wait as the Port Authority had only one vessel at their disposal and had to move back and forth between the islands.