Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 9th of October 2016

Case name: 2016_10_9-AEG268
Situation: 114 persons rescued to Milos
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Sunday, the 9th of October 2016, at 3.15am, we received a call from travellers in distress. They told us that they were about 100 persons from Syria and in urgent need of help, as water leaked into the boat. They said that they were in Greek waters, but could not send us a position as they had no internet connection. We advised them to call 112 and ask for immediate rescue. They called us back five times in the following hour. They had called the Coastguard, but were not sure when they would come. We were also contacted by the help organization United Rescue, who where also in touch with the travellers in distress. At 5.40am, the travellers confirmed to us and to United Rescue that they had been rescued. They were taken to the Greek island of Milos. The Greek Coastguard published a press release about the case, stating that they had rescued 114 refugees in good health - including 58 men, 26 women and 27 children and that 3 men had been arrested as traffickers.
The rescue took place northwest of the island Antimilos which is an unusual position for boats heading to Greece. Like another boat with 131 persons that had been rescued from distress the day before, it is likely that the travellers were actually heading to Italy.
Both cases also figured in the international press, e.g. in the German radio broadcast Deutschlandfunk and the Austrian newspaper Der Standard.
www.hcg.gr/node/13657‬
www.deutschlandfunk.de/griechenland-114-fluechtlinge-erreichen-insel-milos.447.de.html?drn:news_id=664922
www.derstandard.at/2000045605111/114-Fluechtlinge-erreichten-griechische-Insel-Milos