Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 1st of February 2016

Case name: 2016_02_01-AEG199
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 5 emergency situations in the Aegean Sea
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Monday the 1st of February 2016, the Alarm Phone was alerted to 5 distress cases in the Aegean region. Two groups of travellers had stranded, one on Farmakonisi Island and one on Pasas Island. The rescue and transfer of the former group was confirmed. Two vessels seeking to reach Lesvos had entered situations of distress. While we found out that one vessel was rescued, we do not have a confirmation for the second vessel. We were also informed about a boat that was able to reach Chios Island independently.

At 2.28am, our shift team received a WhatsApp message from a contact person, informing us about a group of 30 people, including 7 children, who had stranded on Farmakonisi Island (case 1). They had landed on the island an hour earlier and our contact person had already advised them to call the international emergency number 112. We were able to directly reach the group at 3.25am and they confirmed that they were 30 people. They had been told that the Greek coastguards would transfer them off the island in the morning. We then sent an email to the Greek coastguards, to report that we had knowledge of the case and to pass on the group’s GPS position. At 6.30am, the group informed us that they saw a vessel arriving and at 2pm the Port Authority of Leros confirmed that they had found and transferred the group to Leros.

At 3.59am, we received another WhatsApp message from a contact person, alerting us to a vessel carrying 69 people on its way to Lesvos (case 2). He also passed on a voice message from the people who seemed to be in panic. We tried to call them directly but were unable to get through. The contact person had already informed the coastguards but rescue had not yet occurred. At 4.05am we contacted the Greek coastguards and passed on the details of the case. In the following hours, the group could not be reached. Only at 2.20pm, the contact person confirmed that they had been rescued.

At 6.37am we received a direct call from a boat on its way to Lesvos (case 3). The travellers told us that there were 45 people, including 10 children on the boat. While the engine was still working, water had started to enter the boat. We tried to obtain their GPS position and we received it at 6.52am. However, we received two different GPS positions and it was not clear whether either of them was correct. When we could not reach the group anymore, we informed the Greek and Turkish coastguards about the case. We also talked to the Greek coastguards and, as expected, they said that they would not be able to do much without correct coordinates. In the following hours we tried to obtain further information about the fate of this group, also by calling the Turkish coastguards. However, unfortunately we do not know what happened to them.

At 10.41pm, we received several Facebook messages alerting us to a boat in distress, on its way to Chios (case 4). We called the Chios Port Authority who confirmed that a recue vessel was already in the area. Shortly afterwards we received the confirmation that they had safely reached the island.

At 11.01pm, we received a message via Facebook, telling us about 50 people, including 12 women (three of whom were pregnant) and 11 children (including 1 baby), who had stranded on the small and uninhabited island of Pasas (case 5). At 11.35pm, we reached the group and a man confirmed that there were 3 pregnant women, 10 children and 1 baby. We advised them to call the emergency numbers 112 and 108. We then turned to the Chios Port Authority and they confirmed that they knew about the group. They said that they could pick them up only in the morning. We informed the group of travellers that they would have to wait until the morning. They had moved on the island and found the church building. We later received the confirmation of their rescue from the Greek coastguards.