Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 21st of January 2016

Case name: 2016_01_21-AEG189
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 8 boats in distress; all reached Greek islands safely
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Thursday the 21st of January 2016 the Alarm Phone was alerted to 8 boats of distress in the Aegean Sea, close to the Greek islands of Lesvos, Kastellorizo and Samos. In all cases the travellers arrived safely in Greece. The Greek coastguard rescued three boats, while 5 boats reached the Greek islands independently.

At about 3am several contact persons informed us about a boat in distress close to the Turkish coast on its way to the Greek island of Lesvos and provided us with GPS coordinates and a phone number (case 1). At 3.15am we were able to speak directly to the travellers. We learned that there were about 50 people on board and that their boat was still able to move. Thus we decided not to alert the Turkish coastguard immediately. 35 minutes later we talked again to the travellers and received their latest position, which clearly showed them in Greek territorial waters. At 3.55am we informed the Greek coastguard via phone and mail and forwarded the coordinates of the boat. Afterwards we sent a WhatsApp message to the travellers and informed them that the Greek coastguard will send a rescue vessel to their position. We stayed in contact with the travellers via WhatsApp and at 4.20am they asked urgently for help and sent us their latest position. We forwarded this position to the Greek coastguard in a second mail. Afterwards we were called several times by the Greek coastguard, who wanted to double-check the position of the boat in distress. However, at 4.50am, we received a message from the travellers, stating that they were okay, thus probably rescued. At 5am and 5.10am we talked again to the Greek coastguard. They had indeed started a rescue operation and picked up 48 travellers at the position we had forwarded to them.

The same contact persons also informed us about a boat which had run out of fuel close to the Greek island of Strongyli near Kastellorizo at about 3.15am (case 2). In the following 30 minutes we tried to call the travellers directly, but without success. Thus, at 3.45am, we forwarded their position and phone number to the Greek coastguard via phone and mail. At 4.23am we received an updated position of the boat, which indicated that they had arrived in the port of the island of Kastellorizo. We informed the Greek coastguard accordingly and they confirmed to us that this also fits to their information.

At about 6am a contact person informed us about a boat in distress north of the Greek island of Lesvos (case 3). At 6.15am we were able to speak to one of the travellers directly. She urgently asked us for help and told us their latest position. We heard several small children, who were panicking and screaming in the background. At 6.23am we called the Greek coastguard and forwarded the position of the travellers in distress. At 6.40am our contact person sent a WhatsApp message to us, stating that the Greek coastguard had arrived and rescued the travellers on board.

At 11am we received the GPS position and phone number of a boat in distress close to the island of Lesvos (case 4). In a direct call at 11.10am the travellers told us that their engine had broken down and that they were 50 people on board, including many women and children. We asked them to send us their latest GPS position, but they did not send it to us. Thus we called the Greek coastguard at 11.20am and forwarded the coordinates we had received from the contact person about 20 minutes ago. At 11.40am we received a voice message, which stated that the Greek coastguard had started to rescue the travellers in distress. Afterwards, we were not able to reach the travellers again.

At about midday we were informed about two boats east of the Greek island of Lesvos, which were confronted with a Turkish coastguard vessel driving around them and causing high waves (case 5). We received a picture of this rescue vessel but were not able to speak to the travellers directly. At 1pm we called the Turkish coastguard and confronted them with our information. They promised to clarify this supposed attack. At 1.20pm and 1.35pm respectively, we received confirmation that both boats had finally arrived on the Greek island of Lesvos.

At about the same time two contact persons alerted us to another boat east of Lesvos with 50 travellers on board, who were facing problems with their boat’s engine (case 6). We talked to them directly and learned that there were pregnant women and children on board and we heard that they had begun to panic. At 12.37am we called the Greek coastguard and forwarded our information. However, at 1.10pm and 1.15pm both contact persons informed us that their engine had started to work again and that they were able to continue their journey. We informed the Greek coastguard accordingly. Finally, at 2.15pm we received confirmation that the travellers had safely arrived on the Greek island of Lesvos.

In the early evening, at 7.26pm, a person informed us that she had lost contact to a boat of 13 travellers, who were on their way to the Greek island of Samos (case 7). She forwarded their phone number and a GPS position to us, which was, however, already two hours old. Although we were not able to talk to the travellers directly, we called the Turkish coastguard one hour later, at 8.30pm, and learned that they were also in possession of this GPS data and had received the same phone number. They had already searched for the boat with an helicopter but have not been able to find it. The officer on duty assumed that they might have already arrived on the Greek island of Samos. As we had no confirmation from the travellers, we continued to investigate in this case on the next day. We contacted several solidarity groups on Samos and also talked to the Greek coastguard and asked for any information on this particular boat. The coastguard asked us to provide the port authorities on Samos with some names of the travellers. We asked the contact person to urge the travellers’ relatives she was in contact with, to call the port authorities on Samos directly. Finally, in the afternoon of this day, the contact person wrote to us that the travellers in question had safely arrived on Samos on the previous day.