Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 11th of June 2018

Case name: 2018_06_11-AEG397
Situation: 10 travellers crossing the land border to Greece, finally found by Greek police.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Monday the 11th of June, at 03.20pm, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a contact person to a group of 10 travellers who were lost after having crossed the land border to Greece. The contact person forwarded us the travellers’ position and informed us that they had now been without food and water for three days. We called the local police, alerting them to the situation of the travellers, and they told us that they would send a car to look for them. An hour later we spoke to the police again. They informed us that they were close to the position of the travellers but that they could not find them, and asked us to tell them to make themselves visible. When we spoke to the travellers they stressed the urgency of their situation, informing us that several people needed medical attention, including two children who had fainted. The whole group was exhausted due to the lack of food and water. The Alarm Phone shift team tried to mediate between the police on the one hand, who wanted the travellers to walk to a nearby farm house, and the travellers on the other hand, who were exhausted and feared a pushback to Turkey. At around 07.00pm the police left the location as the travellers had not yet found them. At 07.25pm we spoke to the travellers, who were all on their way to the village close by. After this call, it was no longer possibly to reach the travellers, probably because they ran out of battery. At 10.05pm we called the police again, and they confirmed that they had found the travellers, and that they were all safe.