Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 19th of November 2015

Case name: 2015_11_19-AEG134
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 3 boats in distress near Lesvos and Kos; 4 groups stranded on Kastellorizo, Nera and Strongyli
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Thursday the 19th of November 2015 the Alarm Phone was alerted to 8 groups in distress in the Aegean Sea. Three boats in distress near the Greek islands of Lesvos and Kos were rescued either by the Greek or by the Turkish coastguard. 4 groups of travellers who had stranded on the Greek islands of Kastellorizo, Nera and Strongyli were finally picked up from these islands. Beyond that, the Alarm Phone supported a group of travellers who got lost in a forest near the Turkish coast in the middle of the night.

At 2.35am we were informed via WhatsApp about a group of travellers who got lost in a forest on Turkish mainland north of Didim (case 1). We called them directly and asked whether we should alert the Turkish coastguard and also urged them to call the emergency hotline 112. Afterwards, at 2.40am, we informed the Turkish coastguard and forwarded the location of the group. One hour later, at 3.43am, we talked to the coastguard again and learned that they had alerted the local police. At 4.08am we received an updated position of the group and also forwarded it to the coastguard. At 5am we learned that they had arrived at a street and that they were fine.

At 5.12am a contact person forwarded the phone number and coordinates of a group of travellers in distress in the Aegean Sea to us (case 2). With 10 people and 3 children on board their boat’s engine had stopped close to the Turkish coast near Didim. We called the group immediately and they asked us to alert the Turkish coastguard. At 5.15am we informed the Turkish coastguard, forwarded all our information and were asked to call back one hour later. At 6am our contact person informed us that the group was being rescued at that time. After several attempts to speak to the group again, at 1pm we received a voice message from the travellers, informing us that they had been rescued by the Turkish coastguard and that they were fine.

At about 6am we received the position of 18 travellers, among them 6 children, who had stranded on the Greek island of Kastellorizo (case 3). We called the group directly and they asked for help, telling us that they had arrived on the island at about 1am. We asked them to call 112 and promised to them to also inform the Greek coastguard. At 6.20am we informed the coastguard and forwarded all our information. They promised to send a rescue vessel to the location. During the next three hours we were not able to establish contact to the travellers again, however, at 10am they told us that no help had arrived so far. Thus we called the coastguard again, who told us that they had alerted the port authorities of the island one hour earler, adding that there is only one rescue vessel available and that it will take some time to pick up the stranded travellers. At 12.40am we received a voice message from the travellers, stating that the police had eventually arrived and picked them up.

At 8.20am we were alerted by a contact person to a boat in distress on its way to the Greek island of Kos, with 40 travellers on board (case 4). However, both, the contact person and we were not able to reach the travellers again. Thus we decided to inform the Turkish coastguard at 8.26am. Only 15 minutes later we learned that the group had been rescued.

At 8.10am a contact person forwarded the phone number and coordinates of a group of 14 men, 11 women and 25 children to us, who had also stranded on the Greek island of Kastellorizo (case 5). We tried to reach the travellers but were only able to talk to them at about 9am. They told us that they were in need of help as they had run out of food and water. At 9.10am we alerted the Greek coastguard and forwarded all our information. One hour later we talked again to the coastguard and learned that they had already sent off a rescue vessel, but that it will take some time until it will arrive. At 11.30am we learned from the travellers that they had started to walk in the direction of the nearby city and at 12.20am our contact person told us that had arrived in a safe area.

At 9.45am another contact person informed us about a group in distress who had stranded on the Greek island of Nera one hour earlier (case 6). We asked the people to call 112, but they did not receive an answer. However, at 10.25am the Greek coastguard told us that they had already picked up a group from the island of Nera, but were unsure if this was ‘our’ group. However, at about the same, our contact person confirmed the rescue operation, too.

In the afternoon, at 2pm, the same contact person sent us a WhatsApp message, informing us about a boat in distress north of the Greek island of Lesvos, with 40 travellers on board (case 7). We called the Greek coastguard in Piraeus and also informed the crew of the German rescue vessel Sea-Watch at 2.15pm. 20 Minutes later the Sea-Watch crew informed us that the Greek coastguard had already arrived on the given location. However, at 2.52pm we received a WhatsApp message directly from the travellers, informing us that they had safely arrived in Greece.

In the evening, around 8pm, several people alerted us via Facebook and WhatsApp to a group of 5 men, 4 women and 10 children who had stranded on the Greek island of Strongyli, with one injured child among them (case 8). We talked to the travellers at 8.15pm and learned that they were in need of help. At 8.20pm we called the port authorities on the island of Kastellorizo and were told that they already know about the group and that they will take care of them. However, in a call with the group on Strongyli at 10pm we learned, that their situation had not changed in the meantime and that no help had arrived so far. We told them that it might still take some time until the authorities will arrive. Finally, at about midnight we learned from one of our initial informants that the group had been picked up from the island.