Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 15th of January 2016

Case name: 2016_01_15-AEG184
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 16 emergency situations in the Aegean Sea
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Friday the 15th of January 2016, the Alarm Phone was alerted to 16 emergency situations in the Aegean region. 3 boats were rescued by the Turkish coastguards, 5 by the Greek coastguards. In one situation it was not clear whether the group had reached Greece independently or whether it had also been rescued by Greek authorities. We were alerted to 4 groups of stranded travellers. In one case their rescue was confirmed, in two cases it was presumed and in one case it was unclear whether they had been rescued or not. Moreover, 3 boats were able to reach Greek islands independently.

At 00.26am a contact person informed our shift team about a vessel carrying 20 children, 15 women and 5 men (case 1). They had run out of fuel and were already close to Lesvos Island. At 00.33am we could not reach them but fortunately, already a few minutes later, the contact person confirmed that they had been able to reach the island independently.

At about 00.30am a contact person reached out to us to inform us about 50 people on a vessel that was at risk of capsizing (case 2). Like in the first case, this vessel was also close to Lesvos Island. When we called the travellers at 00.38am we were unable to reach them. We shortly afterwards alerted the Greek coastguards who confirmed that they knew about the case and had actually spoken to one of the travellers. They said that they had been unable to receive their position. We forwarded their GPS coordinates and the coastguards confirmed that they had a rescue vessel in the area. At 1.04am our contact person confirmed that the travellers had been rescued to Greece. We spoke to one of them at 1.18am who confirmed that they had been brought to Lesvos Island and were now waiting for a UNHCR bus to take them to a camp nearby.

At 2.04am, the same informant as from case 2 alerted us to another vessel south-east of Lesvos (case 3). Now there were about 44 people on the vessel and their engine had stopped working. We were unable to reach the travellers but our informant had direct contact to them. He advised us to call the Greek coastguards which we did at 2.14am. They stated that the vessel was still in Turkish waters and thus in their rescue zone. Only 10 minutes later we received updated GPS data, showing the vessel now clearly in Greek water, so that it was clear that the engine had been re-ignited. We sent a message to the Greek coastguards with the updated position. For the next two hours, we did not learn anything new about this group. At 4.02am our informant told us that he had lost contact to the boat. We contacted the coastguards repeatedly but they hung up the phone before we could enquire about the group. For many hours afterwards, the travellers could not be reached. At 3.30pm we finally received the confirmation that the group had been rescued by Greek coastguards. We obtained an updated GPS position, showing them by the reception centre near Moria.

At 2.25am we received another distress case near Lesvos Island via a contact person (case 4). We reached the boat that carried 55 people at 2.29am and while it was difficult to understand them, it seemed to be a very tense situation on board. When the line broke up we turned to the Greek coastguards at 2.31am who told us to inform them via email, which we did. At 3.11am our contact person told us that he thought that they had probably been rescued. Their phone was ringing when we tried to reach them but nobody picked up. While we were never able to speak to the travellers directly, we saw at 12.50pm that they had been online on WhatsApp half an hour earlier. We took this as a good sign and presume that they had been rescued or able to reach the island independently.

At 2.54am we received a new case, involving a group including 20 children and 25 men and women, trying to reach Farmakonisi (case 5). Our contact person said that he would accompany the boat and alert our shift team if he needed our support. At 3.44am we received a WhatsApp message from our contact person, saying that “the boat is now on the beach, they are safe, they made it by themselves.”

At 7.09am another informant notified us about a large group of people stuck on Farmakonisi Island (case 6). More than 150 people, including 70 women and 40 children were said to have stranded on the island and were now without food and exposed to the harsh weather conditions. We tried to inform the Greek authorities of Leros but they did not listen and hung up the phone. At noon we reached one person on Farmakonisi island who told us that they were still on the island and without food and water. We saw on the vessel tracking site ‘marinetraffic’ that a rescue vessel was moving to and from the island, indications that people were transported off Farmakonisi. At 2.02pm one of the people on the island confirmed that groups were being transferred. In the evening, at 9.40pm, our contact person confirmed that the stranded groups had been transported off the island.

At 7.10am we received a distress case via a contact person on Facebook who told us about a vessel near Kos, carrying 50 people (case 7). We spoke to one of the boat-people five minutes later and were told that their engine had stopped. We informed the Greek coastguards at 7.20am and they knew already about the case and had initiated a rescue operation. We in turn informed the travellers about this and asked them to remain calm. At 8.09am we received the confirmation that they had been able to move on and had reached the island independently.

At 7.30am we were told about a group that had stranded on the island of Pasas (case 8). We spoke to one of the travellers who told us that the group included 22 children and 10 women. We informed the Port Authority of Chios and passed on the GPS position of the group. They seemed aware of the group but stated that their rescue vessel was involved in another rescue operation so that the group in question would have to be patient. They said that they should try and reach the church on the island. We passed these information on to our contact person who informed the group. He got back to us at 7.59am with the information that the area where the group had stranded was rocky, making it difficult for them to move on toward the church.
At 8.45am we were alerted to another group on Pasas, about 50 people, 15 children, 10 women, and 25 men (case 9). We informed the Chios Port Authority at 9am to the second group. At 10.05am we received a WhatsApp message from the group: they were still on the island and in fact 80 people who were suffering from the cold and their wet clothes. We asked for updated coordinates and received them at 10.10am, showing them by the church. At 10.15am the Chios authorities informed us that their vessel was now on its way. They stressed that the first group should try to reach the church. At 10.30am we received updated coordinates from the first group, showing the near the church. We informed them that rescue was on its way. At 10.40am another contact person informed us about a large group of stranded people on the island. Following his account there were about 170 people, some of whom had arrived already the day before, some several hours ago and some very recently. We saw on the vessel tracking website marinetraffic that a vessel had reached the island at 11am and was now on its way back to Chios. At 4.17pm, the rescue of presumably the entire group was confirmed.

At 9.10am we were alerted to a boat in distress east of Lesvos (case 10). We reached the boat at 9.18am and the travellers were calm. It was unclear whether they were already or land or still at sea. A few minutes later we received updated GPS coordinates and then alerted the Greek coastguards at 9.28am. They took down the details of the case and said that they were currently observing the boat and rescuing it soon. At 2.15pm we were informed by our initial contact person that the group had been rescued at sea and were brought to Lesvos.

At 2.54pm we received a distress message via a contact person on Facebook, informing us about a boat near the small Greek island of Kalolimnos, carrying 60 people (case 11). Contact to the travellers could not be established and only at 5.06pm did we receive further information. They were now very close to the coast of Kalymnos but following the account of a contact person, the ‘captain’ of the vessel had left them and they were unable to navigate the boat. At 5.20pm we informed the Greek coastguards. At 8.02pm one of our informants told us that according to the relatives of the people on the boat, the group was safe.

At 5.24pm a contact person sent us a WhatsApp message, telling us about a group of 14 people stranded on Farmakonisi (case 12). We informed the Port Authority of Leros and asked if they could send out a rescue vessel. They informed us that they would not be able to send out another rescue vessel until the next day. We passed these information on to our contact person who responded that many in the group were old and unable to walk on to find shelter. We advised the contact person that the younger members of the group should try and reach the military that is stationed on the island and ask for water and blankets. Our contact person told us that the group had the same idea and some of them would try to find the military. In the morning of the following day we contacted the Leros authorities again who said that they could not go to the island due to the difficult weather conditions. Up to now we do not have a confirmation that this group has been rescued.

At 8.28pm, a contact person sent us a Facebook message, telling us about 40 people on a boat moving toward Agathonisi (case 13). We contacted the travellers at 8.30pm but could not communicate due to language differences. It was clear that they were anxious on the boat. At 8.35pm we alerted the Greek coastguards who took down the information and, after some hesitation, confirmed that they would send out a rescue boat. Several hours later our Facebook contact told us that the group had been found and rescued. However, by the Turkish coastguards which returned them to Turkey. The same contact person told us about another boat, carrying 40 people, including 10 children (case 14). They were also on their way to Agathonisi but still near the Turkish coast. When we spoke to the Turkish coastguards at 8.40pm they told us that they knew about this distress case and had already sent out a rescue vessel. In the evening of the following day, our contact person informed us that this boat had been rescued by the Greek coastguards. At 9.02pm we received a WhatsApp message from a contact person, informing us about a third group, this time of 50 people, seeking to reach Agathonisi (case 15). We called the Greek coastguards who told us that this vessel had been rescued by the Turkish coastguards. At 00.11am, our contact person confirmed that they had been rescued. At 11.30pm we learned about a fourth vessel moving toward Agathonisi, again carrying about 40 people (case 16). Our informant had lost contact to the boat and was worried we informed the Greek coastguards about this distress case. In the evening of the following day, our informant told us that this vessel had been rescued back to Turkey.