Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 11th of December 2015

Case name: 2015_12_11-AEG154
Situation: 3 boats in distress near Lesvos and close to the Turkish coast, 1 group stranded on Agathonisi, 1 group arrested at the Turkish coast
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Friday the 11th of December 2015 the Alarm Phone was alerted to 2 boats in distress east of the Greek island of Lesvos and to one boat close to the Turkish coast near Didim east of the Greek island of Agathonisi. All travellers were saved or reached Greece independently. One group had stranded on Agathonisi and was transferred to Samos afterwards. Another group of Syrian travellers was arrested at the Turkish coast near Dikili.

On early Friday morning, at 0.15am, we were informed via WhatsApp about a group of travellers who had stranded on the eastern shore of the Greek island of Agathonisi (case 1). We talked to the travellers at 0.25am and told them that we would call the local authorities of this island and ask them to provide help to the travellers. In a call to the authorities on Agathonisi at 0.30am we learned that we have to address the authorities on the bigger island of Samos. Thus we alerted the authorities on Samos, forwarded the group’s coordinates and were told that they would be rescued. However, at 2.50am, the travellers told us that they were still waiting. In another call to the authorities on Samos we were told that they will only become active on the following morning. We pressurized them to immediately start a rescue operation but were told that they cannot do so during night. 10 minutes later we talked to the travellers again, who in the meantime had accepted to stay the night outside. At 6.25am we called them back, they had moved to the centre of the island and had arrived at a military barrack, where they planned to ask for help. Around midday of this day we were informed that the group of people were picked up and brought to neighbouring island of Samos.

At 6.35am the Alarm Phone was informed about a boat in distress very close to the Turkish coast near Didim whose engine had stopped in very stormy conditions (case 2). Our contact person had already alerted the Turkish coastguard and they promised to send a rescue vessel to the travellers in distress. We sent an e-mail to the Turkish coastguard in order to let them know that we are as well aware of this boat. At 7.45am our contact person informed us that the boat had been rescued at around 7am.

At the same time, at about 7.45am, we received the coordinates and phone numbers of a boat in distress between Turkey and the Greek island of Lesvos, whose engine had stopped working 15 minutes earlier (case 3). We alerted the Greek coastguard via phone call and e-mail at 7.50am and forwarded our information. Ten minutes later we were also able to provide the coastguard with the number of travellers. In the same call they told us that a rescue vessel had already started. At 8am our contact person told us that he lost contact to the group, but at around 9am we learned that the travellers had been rescue at around 8.15am.

At 1.12pm a contact person forwarded GPS coordinates and a phone number of another boat in distress in Turkish waters east of Lesvos to the Alarm Phone (case 4). Because we were not able to reach the travellers directly, we agreed with our contact person not to call the Turkish coastguard immediately. At 1.30pm we received updated coordinates and realized that the boat was still moving in the direction of Lesvos and had entered the Greek search and rescue zone. Thus we alerted the Greek coastguard by phone. They told us that a rescue vessel is in close proximity to the boat, but that this is still moving. At 1.45pm we received updated coordinates again, clearly indicating that the boat might reach Lesvos independently. At 2.20pm we were informed that the travellers were close to the coast and finally, at 2.45pm, a contact person let us know that they had safely arrived on the island.

In the evening of that day, at 7.30pm, a Turkish contact person forwarded GPS coordinates to us and informed us about a group of refugees who had been arrested by the Turkish police (case 5). They had been brought to a prison and were held without food and water, and probably had been abused by Tasers. A Turkish-speaking member of the Alarm Phone called the contact person and learned that the people were from Syria and Iraq, amongst them many children and women, and had been arrested in Dikili/Turkey. He had already informed the Red Cross in Turkey. Beyond that we urged the contact person to tell the travellers that they have to insist to be provided with food and water. Beyond that, we promised to pressurize the local police and also to inform other actors. Thus we informed the Aegean Refugee Aid Facebook group and also called the local police in Dikili. On the next day the contact person informed us that the travellers had been released from the prison.