02/2 Alarm Phone alerted to 5 emergency situations in the Aegean Sea, near Chios, Lesvos and Farmakonisi

03.02.2016 / 23:03 / Aegean Sea, Chios, Lesvos and Farmakonisi

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 2nd of February 2016

Case name: 2016_02_02-AEG200
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 Tuesday the 2nd of February 2016, the Alarm Phone was alerted to 5 distress situations in the Aegean region. Four vessels were in distress at sea in total and 2 of them were rescued to Greece and the other 2 to Turkey. One group was stranded on Farmakonisi and later transferred to Leros Island by the Greek coastguards.

The first distress case reached us a few minutes passed midnight when we received a Facebook message from a contact person who informed us about a vessel in distress, carrying 55 people, including many women and children (case 1). They were on their way to Chios Island and when we reached them at 00.15am, they were clearly in panic. We could only hear a lot of shouting before the phone connection cut. We then immediately called the Greek coastguards and passed on the GPS position of the vessel. Afterwards we were unable to reach the travellers again but the contact person confirmed later on that the group had been rescued by the Greek coastguards.

At 3.17am, we received a distress message via WhatsApp, informing us about a vessel with 9 people on board in distress off the Turkish coast (case 2). They were on their way to Lesvos when their engine broke down. Our contact person was in direct contact with the group and we advised him to tell them to call the emergency numbers 112 and 158. Already a couple of minutes later, the Turkish confirmed that they had sent out a rescue vessel. At 3.42am, the contact person confirmed the rescue of the vessel and the return of the group to Turkey.

At 6.01am a contact person alerted us to a large group that had stranded on Farmakonisi Island (case 3). We were told that there were about 138 people who had reached the island on several boats. We then reached out to the Port Authority of Leros and they were aware of the situation but thought that there were 134, not 138 people on the island. They confirmed that they would go and transfer the people off the island. Via the contact person we informed the group that they should stay together and await rescue. At 8.29am one of the people on the island reported that fifteen minutes earlier, 14 people had been taken onto a boat. It can be presumed that the Greek coastguards went several times back and forth and transferred the group off Farmakonisi.

At 10.55am our shift team received a call from a woman in the US who informed us about a boat in distress that she had been informed about via Facebook (case 4). Shortly afterwards, another contact person informed us about the same case. The vessel was on its way to Lesvos and carrying about 50 people. A few minutes later the second contact person informed us that the group had been rescued by the Greek coastguards.

At 11.42pm we received a WhatsApp message from a Syrian activist who told us about a group in distress (case 5). The distress situation was not clear and the people could not be reached. Through the contact person we learned that they wanted to be rescued either by the Turkish or Greek coastguards. They were still in Turkish waters and so we spoke to the Turkish coastguards at midnight and they confirmed that they would look into the situation. At 2.15am, our activist colleague confirmed that they had been rescued by the Turkish coastguards.
Last update: 19:02 Feb 10, 2016
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

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