Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 4th of September 2015

Case name: 2015_09_4-AEG60
Situation: 9 cases, near Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Kalimnos, Agathonisi‬‬
Status of WTM Investigations: Concluded
Place of Incidents: Aegean Sea

Summary of the case: On Friday, the 4th of September 2015, the Alarm Phone worked on 9 cases in the Aegean Sea, mainly near Lesvos and Samos, but also near Chios, Kalymnos and Agathonisi. The information about the 1st distress case reached us around midnight on Facebook via a Syrian solidarity group. The position of the vessel was north of Lesvos, in Turkish waters. We tried to clarify at what time the SOS call was sent. Via a Syrian contact person we received the information that the vessel had been rescued by the Greek coastguard.‬‬‬

At 2.20am the Alarm Phone was contacted by a Macedonian solidarity group about a 2nd case of distress. It involved a vessel carrying 2 families, 11 persons in total, in between Turkey and Chios, Greece. The contact person told us that the travellers had been victims of an attack, they had been shot at and their engine and the paddles had been stolen. They had tried to move, paddling with their hands in the direction of Greece, which proved difficult, because of the currents. We first reached out to the Greek coastguards, but they said, that the boat was near a Turkish island and thus in Turkish waters. Two hours later, we phoned the Greek coastguards again with updated GPS data, but again they insisted that we call the Turkish coastguard. At 4.38am we informed the Turkish coastguards. They rescued the vessel with the 2 families as well as two other vessels in proximity.

At 2.41am our shift team received information via WhatsApp about a 3rd case of distress of a vessel between Bodrum, Turkey and Kalimnos, Greece. We reached out to the travellers who were worried but not in panic. Nevertheless, they asked us to call whoever would come to their rescue. Since they were still in Turkish waters, at 2.55am we called the Turkish coastguard. Later on, the rescue of the vessel by the Turkish coastguard was confirmed.

Parallel to the 3rd case, we were informed by the same contact person about a 4th vessel, carrying 46 persons, between Turkey and Samos, Greece. At 3.14am we called the Turkish coastguard, as the travellers were in distress and still close to the Turkish coast. Just half an hour later, the contact person confirmed the rescue of the boat by the Turkish coastguard.

At 5.50am we were alerted to a 5th vessel in distress south of Samos, Greece, near Agathonisi. We tried several times to reach the boat, but without success. One hour later, the contact person asked us to call the Greek coastguard, which we did. They checked the position and said that they had rescued already 56 people in nearly the same position.

At 7.30am we received a call about a 6th distress situation of a boat carrying 50 persons, close to Lesvos. We asked them to send us the GPS data, then we lost contact. At 8.05am we received the coordinates of the boat, which was still in Turkish waters. They asked us to call the Turkish coastguard. At 8.18am we had the Turkish coastguard on the line, but they first put us on hold and then just hung up. We kept trying with different numbers and were blocked each time. Finally, someone answered our call and told us not to call again, but to call the Greek coastguard. We thus sent an e-mail with the information and called the Greek coastguard on Lesvos. They first refused to take the coordinates and told us that the travellers should call 112, but then they took them eventually. Half an hour later we called back to make sure that they had launched the rescue operation. They told us to call the Turkish coastguard. We explained that we already did and that it was urgent. They hung up. Half an hour later we reached the travellers and they said that they had been saved by the Turkish coastguard.

At 12.50pm, we received a call about a 7th case, which was posted on Facebook. '. We were told that 4 persons were in distress close to Samos, but still in Turkish waters. One hour later, we received the number of the travellers and the information that they (3 men and 1 woman) had arrived on an island. We also reached them and they confirmed the information. They told us that they had been on the island for 2 days and that they were without food or water. At 2.30pm we called the Turkish coastguard in Izmir. They were not cooperative at all and would not take any information. At 4pm we saw on the Facebook page of the Macedonian solidarity group that they were working on the case as well. Through this group we learned that the travellers had apparently been saved by the Turkish coastguard together with 50 other people who had been brought to Izmir/Turkey.

At 6.25pm we received a direct call on the Alarm Phone from a Syrian with a German number. He told us about a boat in distress in Turkish waters in direction of Skala Sikamenias, Lesvos. He said that there were about 55 people on board, mostly Syrians. We did not reach the boat. At 6.45pm the contact person sent us another phone number. He told us that he had his 3 year old sister and 25 year old brother on the boat and was therefore very worried. He had himself crossed the Mediterranean by boat and had been rescued at sea after a traumatizing ten day long journey. We told him that we would stay in close contact with him until his siblings were saved. At 7pm we reached a contact person in Lesvos, who told us that the sea was calm and that probably no one was going to drown, if they wore life vests. At 7.18pm we received via another contact person the information that the coastguard was on their way. At 9pm the first contact confirmed that his relatives had safely arrived to Greece!

At 8.17pm we received the 9th and final alert about a vessel in distress close to Lesvos. Another solidarity group was already active about the case, so we agreed with our contact person to stay on hold, in order not to confuse the coastguard or the travellers. They managed on their own and so we didn’t need to intervene.