Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 15th of January 2022Case name: 2022_01_15-AEG853
Situation: Hellenic Coast Guard pushed-back a boat with 24 travelers, then just watches as they are in distress in a sinking boat, later rescued by Turkish Coast Guard
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Eastern Med
Summary of the Case:
In the middle of the night of the 15th of January, Alarm Phone received a call from a worried relative, alerting us to sinking boat with 24 travellers including women and children abroad, in the Aegean sea who were trying to reach Rhodos. They had set out from Marmaris in Turkey, were pushed back by Hellenic Coast Guard who had forced them to turn around and go back towards Turkey. Shortly after the boat became in distress as it was leaking badly.
When we received the call, we contacted the authorities at 00:13 alerting them of the boat in distress. We established direct contact with the boat who informed us that there was a lot of water in the boat, and they don't know how long they could go on. They could still see the Hellenic Coast Guard boat about 100 metres away, watching them sinking but refusing to rescue. At 01:10 the travelers told us that their engine had stopped working and they wouldn't last another 30 minutes before sinking completely. We contacted again the Turkish Coast Guard who were on their way, and at 02:34 they confirmed that the boat was rescued and on their way back to shore.
Last update: 13:22 May 10, 2022
Credibility: |
|
|
0 |
|