Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 11th of August 2018
Case name: 2018_08_11-AEG411
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to two boats on their way to Kos, one rescued to Greece, one to Turkey
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Saturday the 11th of August the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted to two boats in distress on their way from Turkey to Kos. One boat was rescued by the Greek coast guard and brought to Kos, whilst the other was rescued by the Turkish coast guard and returned to Turkey.

At 5.12am CEST we received a message from a contact person about a boat with 22 travellers, including four children, heading towards Kos. Their engine had stopped working. The contact person forwarded us their phone number and position. Communication with the boat was difficult as the connection was bad, but via the contact person we received their updated positions. At 5.25am we called the Greek coast guard and passed on the information we had. At 6am the contact person informed us that the travellers had arrived safely to Kos.

At 6.35am CEST we were alerted by a contact person to a group of 17 travellers, including six children and three women, on their way to Kos. The contact person forwarded us their position, showing that they were still close to the Turkish coast, and informed us that their engine was no longer working. We were not able to establish communication with the boat. At 7.20am we called the Turkish coast guard and pass on the information we had. At 9.30am we spoke to the Turkish coast guard again, and they confirmed that they had rescued the travellers.