Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 3rd of December 2022
Case name: 2022_12_03_Eastern Med_1075
Situation: Landing south of Lesvos, 26 people pushed back

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Eastern Mediterranean / Aegean Sea
Summary of the Case:

In the morning of the 26th of November 2022 we were alerted by relatives of a group of 8 people who landed in the south of Lesvos. Among the 8 people were 3 pregnant women and 2 children. They reported that some of them need medical attention due to health problems.

At 18:34 CET we alerted Greek authorities and several NGOs and informed them about their need for medical assistance and their need for international protection.

At 18:53 CET Doctors without borders (MSF) answered by email that they would try to provide medical assistance.

Later the evening we receive the information that 22 people from this boat were found and assisted. But the people reported 26 people were probably pushed back to Turkey.

The Turkish coastguard confirmed in a phone call that there were 26 people in total rescued already on 2 December, 11 men, 12 women, 3 kids (1 boy, 2 girls). One of the women was pregnant. The nationalities were the same as of the missing group.

The Turkish Coastguard published later a rescue that fits to the group we were in contact with, stating that on December 2nd 2022 at 17:40 local time, they were alerted to two life rafts off the coast of İzmir’s Dikili district. They found 26 people in 2 life rafts who had been pushed back to Turkish territorial waters.

We did not manage to get in touch with the people who had been pushed back to Turkey.