05/08: 40 travellers pushed back to Turkey south of Lesvos

06.08.2020 / 18:01 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 5th of August 2020
Case name: 2020_08_05-AEG695
Situation: 40 travellers pushed back from Greek waters south of Lesvos and brought to Turkey
Status of WTM Investigation: concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean sea

Summary of the Case:
On Wednesday the 5th of August our Alarm Phone shift team was contacted by a relative alerting us to the distress of 40 travellers, including 10 children. According to the relative, the Greek coastguard had destroyed the engine of the boat and pushed it back to Turkish waters. A few minutes later we reached the travellers who confirmed this and asked for urgent rescue. They forwarded us their current position. At 04.11h CEST we called the Turkish coastguard and forwarded the information we had. The Turkish coastguard confirmed that they would send a rescue vessel. In the meantime, we were in contact with the travellers, who were getting increasingly anxious. At 4.43h the travellers called us to inform us that the Turkish coastguard was approaching. 20 minutes later the Turkish coastguard confirmed that the rescue had been carried out, and one hour later the travellers informed us that they were back in Turkey.

Concerning the possible push-back we are still investigating to find out what happened.

Last update: 16:00 Dec 07, 2020

Credibility:

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