Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 03rd of October 2015

Case name: 2015_10_03-AEG88
Situation: Alarm Phone working on 8 distress cases in the Aegean Sea
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Saturday the 3rd of October 2015, the Alarm Phone was involved in 8 emergency situations in the Aegean Sea. At 2.35am we were called by a contact person who alerted us to a vessel in distress, still in Turkish waters (case 1). The travellers had run out of fuel and could not move any further. Our contact person had already informed the Greek coastguard and when we called the people on the boat they seemed fine and awaiting rescue by the Turkish coastguard. Our contact person also told us about a second vessel which was very close to the first one. At 2.50am we called the people on board of the first vessel and they confirmed that the Turkey authorities were in the process of rescuing them.

At 3.49am a contact person asked us to inform the Greek coastguards about a vessel south of Lesvos (case 2). This boat had also run out of fuel and could not move further. When we called the Greek authorities at 3.52am, they said that a patrol boat was in the area and would conduct the rescue operation. During the phone call he confirmed that they had spotted the vessel and would rescue it immediately. At 4.05am, the people on the vessel confirmed that they had been rescued.

At 6.49am we were told about a vessel in distress near Kos/Greece (case 3). We could not reach the boat and informed the Greek authorities in Kos. At 9.07am, the authorities confirmed that they had conducted several rescue operations in the area and they assumed that the vessel in question was amongst them.

At 7.07am, we were forwarded phone numbers and GPS coordinates of another vessel near Kos (case 4). We alerted the authorities in Kos to the situation and as in case 3, they confirmed that they had rescued many vessel in that area. We also managed to get through to one of the passenger but the line was disrupted. They seemed, however, not to be in urgent distress. At 2.46pm the authorities confirmed that all vessels in the area had been rescued and all people safely brought to Kos.

At 1.29pm we were told about 45 people from Syria, including 4 children, who were on a vessel near Lesvos and in distress (case 5). We informed the Greek coastguards on Lesvos about the case which seemed urgent as water was leaking into the boat. At 2.07pm, the people on the boat told us that their engine had stopped working. They said that they could see people at the coast. At 2.25pm they confirmed that they had been rescued and were on Lesvos Island.

At 4.35pm, we were informed by contact persons about a vessel carrying 40 people in distress near Lesvos (case 6). They told us that two vessels nearby had already been rescued but not this one yet. The same group of contact persons also informed us about 4 further emergency cases near the Turkish coast that were eventually all rescued by the Turkish coastguard. Since they had already informed the authorities and were monitoring the situation, we did not get directly involved but supported these contact persons.

At 5.15pm, we received a call from a person residing in Germany who was informed by a Syrian refugee in Germany that his relatives were trying to cross the Aegean Sea and were in a distress situation (case 7). We contacted him directly and he passed on a phone number of his relatives. When we called them we found out that they had already been rescued by the Turkish coastguard. We informed both our contact persons that the people were safe but back in Turkey.

At 10.10pm, we learned about a distress situation in Turkish waters (case 8). The 40 people on the vessel were trying to reach Chios but then entered an emergency situation and stranded on a small Turkish island. We informed the Turkish coastguard who said that they had a vessel nearby which they would send to the location. At 11.20pm we received the confirmation that the coastguard had arrived on the island.