04/07: 60 people rescued by Greek coastguard south of Lesvos

05.07.2017 / 11:35 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 4th of July 2017

Case name: 2017_07_04-AEG291
Situation: 60 people rescued by Greek coastguard south of Lesvos
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Tuesday the 4th of July 2017 at 4am, a contact person alerted the Alarm Phone to a boat in distress south of the Greek island of Lesvos and provided us with their GPS coordinates. There were at least 60 people on board of the boat, including women and children. They had already reached Greek territorial waters, when the boat’s engine stopped working. We tried to call the travellers immediately, but were not able to reach them. Also the contact person was unable to reach the travellers anymore, thus we decided to call the Greek coastguard at 4.40am. We were told that the coastguard had already rescued a boat with about 60 travellers on board in this region. The phone number of the boat rescued was the same than the one we had received from our contact person. At 4.50am, we forwarded this information to him and agreed to wait for confirmation directly from the travellers. Finally, at 6am, the contact person confirmed to us that the Greek coastguard had rescued the travellers. He also forwarded two pictures to us, showing the travellers on board of the Greek coastguard vessel. They were all fine.
Last update: 12:30 Jul 12, 2017
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