14/11: 11 men arrived on Samos, unclear outcome, several pushbacks around Samos at that day

15.11.2022 / 14:56 / Eastern Med

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 14th of November 2022
Case name: 2022_11_14_Eastern Med_1062
Situation: 11 men arrived on Samos, unclear outcome, several pushbacks around Samos at that day
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Eastern Med / Aegean Sea
Summary of the Case:

On 14th of November in the early morning hours our shift team was alerted by a group of 11 men who had just arrived on the island of Samos. One of them was suffering from asthma and had lost his spray. Also others in the group reported to be in need of medical assistance.

At 6:29 CET we sent an email to alert Greek authorities and several NGOs. At 7:04 CET Doctors without borders (MSF) replied to our email that they would send a team to assist. At 9:11 CET the people reported to us that police had arrived while shortly afterwards MSF replied via email and reported that they could not find people at the given location.

Afterwards we could not manage to get back in touch with the people. We later learned from the data the Turkish coastguard publishes that at this day several groups were pushed back from Samos. But as we could not reestablish the contact to the people we could finally not find out, what happened to them.

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