Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 12th of September 2015‬

Case name: 2015_09_12-AEG68
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 5 distress cases near Greek islands
Status of WTM Investigations: Concluded
Place of Incidents: Aegean Sea

Summary of the cases: On Saturday the 12th of September, the Alarm Phone was alerted to 5 cases of distress in the Aegean Sea. It was clear that the conditions for sea migration had worsened as the weather had changed. Several of the travellers we were in touch with reported that the waves were high and the weather bad - this may partially explain the rise in the death toll. On Saturday, it emerged that 4 minors had gone missing north of Samos after their plastic vessel had overturned. They have not been found so far and concerns are growing that they have lost their lives. Also, following an official statement by the Greek coastguard, a 20 year old person went missing near Lesvos/Greece when trying to reach the island (source 1).

On Saturday, shortly after midnight, our Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a Syrian activist collective as well as a person residing in Germany about a vessel in distress in the Aegean Sea, carrying about 30 people. We received their GPS position and the information that their engine had broken down. We located them in Greek waters, east of Lesvos Island. At 0:22am, we contacted the Greek coastguards who noted down all the details of the case. Both the Syrian collective and we ourselves tried to reach the travellers but contact could not be established. At 1.14am, the Greek coastguards stated that they were in the process of searching for the people and it became clear that the people had already fallen into the water! Shortly afterwards the contact person in Germany confirmed that the group had been rescued. However, the Greek coastguard could not verify this information when we contacted them at 2.30am. At 7.22am we were able to speak to the contact person in Germany again who said that he had received a message from the sister of one of the travellers who confirmed that all 30 passengers had been rescued.

At 3.20am, the Syrian collective contacted us about another case, this time concerning a group of 35 people near Rhodos/Greece. When we could not reach them we contacted the Greek coastguards who said that the position we forwarded indicated that they were on the borderline between Turkey and Greece. They confirmed that they would send a boat out for rescue. At 3.58am we were able to reach the group directly. We spoke to a woman who said that they did not know where they were and asked for urgent help. The Greek coastguards confirmed at 4.04am that they were working on the case. Afterwards, contact to the travellers as well as the initial contact person could not be re-established. While rescue cannot be verified, it can be presumed.

At 5.40am, we received a WhatsApp distress call concerning a group of 43 people, including 10 children. The provided GPS position showed them in Greek Waters, near Kalymnos Island. At 5.48am we contacted the Greek coastguards who said that they would work on the case. We reached the travellers shortly afterwards who confirmed that they were 43 people on board of a vessel into which water was leaking. At 6.48am, the coastguards confirmed that they had sent out a search and rescue vessel to the location. At 7.47am, the contact person got in touch and confirmed the rescue of the people in distress.

At 7.19pm, our shift team learned about another distress situation in the Aegean Sea, close to Lesvos Island/Greece. We obtained their GPS position as well as a phone number which we quickly passed on to the Greek coastguards as it was an urgent distress situation. They confirmed that they would send out a search and rescue vessel. At 7.44pm, we received a call from the boat – they were 50 people, including 20 children and 20 women who were very worried as waves were high and water was entering their vessel. Moreover, their engine had stopped working. At 7.55pm, the group informed us via WhatsApp that a small coastguard vessel was approaching them which, they felt, would not be big enough for the whole group. Nonetheless, at 8.58pm, we received the confirmation that they had all arrived on land. It turned out that they were 60 people in total. They were tired but happy and relieved to finally be safe.

At 9.13pm we received the last case of the day, via WhatsApp. A vessel was in distress near Lesvos Island and the recorded message we received said ‘please help these people in distress’. We tried to call them but could not reach them. We saw that they had received our messages and chose not to respond. We hope this is a good sign and they reached Greece independently and safely.