01/5: 13 people near Bodrum in distress (among them two children and two woman), one man found dead.

02.05.2019 / 16:40 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 1st of May 2019
Case name: 2019_05_01-AEG520xxx
Situation: Alarm Phone was alerted of a boat in distress near Bodrum, Turkey. One man died, whilst the rest of the travellers were rescued by the Turkish coast guard.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Wednesday the 1st of May at 10.45pm CEST, the Alarm Phone was alerted by a contact person to 11 travelers in distress near the Turkish coast. At 11.05 pm, our shift team established contact with the boat, however as no one on the boat spoke English communication was difficult. At 11:10 pm CEST, we alerted the Turkish coast guard to the case and gave them the telephone number of the people on the boat. The Turkish coast guard informed us that they were already aware of the case and that the travelers were already with them back in Bodrum. At 11:21 pm our contact person informed us that the travelers were still at sea and that the Turkish coast guard was close to them. Later, our contact person could no longer communicate with the boat. The next morning we tried to once again establish contact with the travelers but with no success. At 11:45 am our contact person informed us that the travelers were safe but that he had lost contact. From news outlets we found out that 12 people, including 2 children and 2 women, were picked up by Turkish Coastguards, but one man was reported missing. The body if a 37 years-old Syrian man, believed to be the missing person, was later found on Bodrum beach.

Last update: 17:06 May 13, 2019

Credibility:

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