Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 3th of May 2019
Case name: 2019_05_03-AEG521
Situation: Alarm Phone was alerted to two groups in the Aegean, one boat close to Lesvos and a group stranded Samos. Both were rescued by the Greek coast guard.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Friday the 3rd of May the Alarm Phone was alerted to two groups of travellers in distress in the Aegean region. The first group was close to the Greek island Lesvos, and the second stuck on a beach on the island Samos. Both groups were rescued by the Greek coast guard and brought to Greece.

At 3:36 am CEST we were alerted via a contact person to a boat in severe distress with 25 travelers of which 7 children. Through the GPS position we localized the boat in Greek waters. At 3:36 am we called the people. They told us that they were 10 women, 15 men and 6 children. They were in urgent distress as the waves were very high. Connection was bad and we lost contact. A few minutes later we called back and the travelers told us that they saw a Greek Coast Guard ship passing nearby. At 3:49 am we alerted the Greek Coastguard and gave them all the information that we had. They confirmed that they would coordinate a rescue operation. We tried to contact the travelers again but without success. At 5:08 am we called back the Greek Coastguards and they informed us that they rescued a boat with 29 persons, including 7 children and 12 women and that no one was missing. At 10.26 am the contact person informed us that the travelers arrived safely.

At 7:33 am CEST a contact person alerted us to a group of 45 people stranded on a beach between the rocks on Samos. We called the travelers; they confirmed that they had arrived safely and that they were 17 children and women and 28 men. At 08:06 am we called Samos police and sent an email with all our information. At 09:20 am Samos Police confirmed that they found them. A few minutes later also the contact person confirmed this information.