Alarm Phone alerted to 2 emergency situations in the Aegean Sea, 3 deaths, 10 people still missing

27.10.2015 / 21:12 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 25th of October 2015

Case name: 2015_10_25-AEG109
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 2 distress cases in the Aegean Sea
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Sunday the 25th of October 2015, the Alarm Phone was alerted to 2 emergency situations in the Aegean Sea.

At 11.50am we were alerted by a woman in France who said that she had learned about a distress case through Facebook (case 1). She told us about an emergency situation near Lesvos Island with several people in immediate danger. Shortly afterwards she was able to provide us with further details and a phone number of one of the travellers which, however, could not be reached. We sent an email with the information to the Greek coastguard which then called us at 12.45pm and told us to inform the Turkish coastguards. When we finally reached the Turkish coastguard at 1.17pm, they told us that they had received information about this case through the Greek coastguard. At 1.21pm, one of our Alarm Phone members on Lesvos informed us that a helicopter was sent out to search for them. They had already found three bodies of women and children. More than 10 people were still missing (see source 1). Afterwards, no further information could be gathered but we will try to find out more about this distress case and the fatalities it caused.

At 12.57pm, we were contacted by a group who were on an island in the Aegean region and needed assistance (case 2). They were first unable to send us their location but from their messages we gathered that they were on the small island of Nisides Tomakia, close to Lesvos Island. At 2.05pm, we informed the Greek coastguard on Lesvos about the situation and they said that they would send out a patrol boat. In the meantime we learned that they were about 40 people, including 9 children who were all wet after their vessel had crashed and they needed medical support. At 2.13pm the Greek coastguard confirmed that they were on their way to the island. At 3.40pm we learned that they were being transferred from the island. We then found out that they were not transferred by the coastguard but in fact by fishermen. They had been able to rescue the whole group from the island but in that process their vessel had hit against rocks and was damaged. Fortunately, everyone remained uninjured. Alarm Phone members went to the harbour to welcome the survivors and to provide them with dry clothes (see also newspaper report, source 2). We encountered the group, including also one little boy who had proudly ‘rescued’ a cat from the island. We were then able to transport the families with children to Pikpa, a self-organized Welcome center that offers shelter for the most vulnerable cases so that they can take a rest before going to Moria for registration. We also met with the fishermen and used our funds to hand them 400 Euro so that they could fix the damages to their vessel. They also said that this had not been their first rescue mission.
Last update: 21:25 Oct 27, 2015
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

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