Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 30th of January 2024 

Case name: 2024_01_30-EASTERN MED - 047
Situation: 38 people in distress between Turkiye and Lesvos, found by Turkish Coast Guard 

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Eastern Med

Summary of the Case:
In the early morning of the 30th of January, Alarm Phone received a call by a worried relative, alerting us to a group of 36 people, including 12 women, 14 children and 10 men, in distress in Turkish waters between Turkiye and Lesvos. At the time of the alert, the caller related that the wind and the waves were endangering the boat. We alerted the Turkish authorities and other relevant actors at 04:51 CET. Shortly after we reached out to the Turkish Coast Guard, who confirmed that they had assigned a coast guard vessel to coordinate the scene.
As the strong wind and waves of over 2.5m were pushing the boat in the direction of Greece we also alerted the Greek authorities about the case at 05:21 CET. When calling the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG) they told us that they were unable to to anything as the boat would be in Turkish waters.
At 05:33 CET we received an updated position, showing that the boat had passed into Greek waters, which we updated the authorities about.
When we called the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG) again, telling them that the boat was now in Greek waters, they did not believe us and refused to check the position.
We called the HCG on Lesvos to relay the information. The officer told us to call back later.
We received an updated position from the boat and the information that some of the people on board were unconscious, which we relayed to the authorities.
We called back the HCG on Lesvos, who did not want to take into account the new position and referred us to the ministry for maritime affairs. The officer of the HCG headquarters in Piraeus still did not listen to us when we called and told us to "believe in the authorities, not the people".
At 06:01 CET we again received and forwarded an updated position.
We called the Turkish Coast Guard, who reported that their boat had arrived on scene and that apparently also Greek patrol boats were there. Shortly after we learned that the people had been taken to Turkiye by the Turkish Coast Guard and that Greek vessels had been on scene. At noon the Turkish Coast sent an Email, confirming that they had found the group, which had consisted of 38 people, including 15 men, 7 women and 16 children.