Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigation – 20th of April 2015

Case name: 2015_04_20-AEG9
Situation: Approximately 17 people in distress between the Turkish coast and Chios Island/Gr, all rescued
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Near Cesme, Turkey

Summary of the Case: On Monday the 20th of April 2015, in the late evening, activist Nawal Soufi informed the Alarm Phone shift team that more than 20 Syrians had left Turkey on a vessel and were on their way to the island of Chios. Nawal passed on a phone number as well as the position of the vessel. The shift team reached out to the passengers via WhatsApp and received the information that there were about 19 people, including 3 children and 2 women on a small vessel. The engine had stopped running and water was slowly entering the vessel. The person on the vessel asked for help and stated that the shift team should hurry.

The shift team then called the Greek coastguards in Piraeus and passed on the information. However, they became very dismissive when they learned that the vessel was still in Turkish territory. In the meantime, the contact to the passengers had broken down. The shift team wrote emails to the Greek coastguards and the UNHCR in Turkey and Greece.

In the night to the 24th of April, the Greek coastguard called our shift team, informing them that they had notified the Turkish coastguards. In phone conversations between the Turkish coastguards and our shift team, they confirmed that a vessel in the area with 17 people on board had been rescued.

Later, contact to one of the passengers could be re-established through WhatsApp. He thanked the shift team, and confirmed that they had been rescued and were back in Turkey. The Turkish coastguards later confirmed the rescue operation (see source 1).