05/11: 31 people arrived to Cyprus after more than five days at sea

06.11.2021 / 11:06 / Eastern Med

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 5th of November 2021

Case name: 20211105-Eastern Med 009Situation: 31 in distress on the way from Syria to Cyprus. According to the people on the boat the Cypriot Coastguard was standing by and did not want to rescue. On the 7th of November a fisherboat provided food and water to the people on the boat as well as helped to repair the boat. After more than five days at sea the people arrived to Cyprus.

Status of WTM Investigation: ConcludedPlace of Incident: Eastern Med009

Summary of the Case:

On the 5th of November at 20:00 CET we were informed about a white boat with 31 people, including 15 children, who left from Syria 50 hours ago at November 3rd. At 20:15 CET we forwarded the distress call to the Joint Rescue Cooperation Centre (JRCC) Larnaca (Cyprus). Afterwards we informed the Turkish Coast Guard as well as the Lebanese Coast Guard. Neither of the coastguards had more information about the boat. From then on we called the coastguards regularly to ask for further information.Only in the afternoon of the 6th of November a relative of the people on the boat told us that the people were "15 nautic milles south between Limassol and Larnaca". According to the relative they called the coastguards but no one came until then. We forwarded the new information to the Cypriot authorities but they didn't want to launch a rescue mission without being able to establish contact to the boat or locate it as they say that the SAR area is too wide without a exact location.

In the evening of the 7th of November the relative sent us pictures of the people on the boat. We were later able to clarify that someone on a big ship that passed by the boat 60 Miles off Cyprus took the pictures. The relatives told us later on, that this bypassing ship provided food and water to the people on the boat and fixed problems on board of the boat.

We constantly stayed in contact with the rescue authorities and provided the UNHCR and the autorities in Cyprus with the names of the people on board.

In the afternoon of the 8th of November we were informed by a relative that the people finally arrived to Cyprus. In the afternoon of the 9th of November, a relative of the travellers met them in a camp in Cyprus and confirmed once again that it's them. On 10th of November the people reportendly left the camp. At 11th of November, also the authorities on Cyprus confirmed that the people who´s names we sent to them were all save and handed over to the Republic of Cyprus by the authorities of the British Base area of Dhekelia.

Here are the tweets about this case.
Last update: 11:53 Dec 18, 2021
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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