Tag Archives: distress at sea

Greece

12 Syrians saved by cargo Yalker and fisher boat near Lesvos

Sunday 15.9.13: A small dinghy trying to reach Greece from the Turkish shore and carrying 12 refugees from Syria got in distress at sea in the night of the 14th September around 23:30 after it hit on some rocks and water got into the boat.

Thank you fishers and Yalker crew!!!
Thank you fishers and Yalker crew!!!

The twelve refugees fell into the sea. The current separated them. Some of the refugees didn’t know how to swim. They only survived with the help of the other Syrians until the Russian cargo ship Yalker and a fisherboat saved them at 8:30 of the other morning near the bay of Gera/ Mytilene. At 10:30 the Greek coast guard brought them to Mytilene. Two Syrians had to be transferred to the hospital. All of them were exhausted, some had bruises from the sea. After registration by the coast guard they were transferred to PIKPA. Today they are going to be handed their papers and left to go to Athens.

Account of one of the survivors a few hours later in PIKPA/ Mytilene:

“It was 11:30 o’clock at night when we passed the sea broder to Greece, just half an hour after we had left Dikeli in Turkey. We hit a rock and our dinghy started taking on water. We desperately tried to empty it but suddenly it broke and started sinking. We fell into the sea. Some of us could not swim. Everybody was screaming and crying.I was holding on a piece of wood. We stayed nine hours in the sea. I got so tired that i fell asleep in the sea on my back. Maybe I was unconscious. Then I heard someone screaming.

Bruises from being saved by two other Syrians
Bruises from being saved by two other Syrians
A cargo boat by the name YALKER arrived. It saved me. Some other got saved by a fisher boat. The people on bord of the Yalker gave us their clothes, coffee, something to eat. I heard others crying and I cried a lot too because I thought my friend had died. Later I saw he had survived too. Two other Syrians saved him holding his body for all the time over the water. We all survived.”

In an e-mail the surviving Syrian refugees thanked the Yalker crew. The Yalker replied:

“We are very happy we could rescue the people! The watch officer noticed the people in the sea through the binocular and immediately informed the captain. We started the rescue operation after one minute. We practice every week rescue measures. It is a serious matter. In the world human life counts first!”


See more about the accident in the local news:
lesvos news (in greek)

Greece

Snapshots of a human tragedy that continues, by Efi Latsoudi

The bodies of 21 migrants were found on a beach on the Aegean island of Lesbos, December 15, 2012, after the sinking of their boat. A young Afghan of 16 years, one of only two survivors indicated that the boat had left the coast of Turkey, had thirty
people aboard, mostly Afghans, when it capsized because of bad weather. Efi Latsoudi, resident and volunteer Mytilene the charity « To Chorio tou Oloi Mazi », which helped the families of the victims in their efforts, discusses the moments of this drama, and the obstacles, and indifferenceof the authorities.
Continue reading Snapshots of a human tragedy that continues, by Efi Latsoudi →

Greece

Three migrants found dead at the coast of Chios

The first two corpses were found on Sunday 13th of January at 9 o ‘clock in the morning by fishermen in two different beaches of the island Chios. A third corpse was found by the coast guard around 2pm at yet another beach. According to first information by the Coroner the persons died of drowning within the last 48 hours before being found.

At the meantime on Saturday 12th of January three migrants were found alive on the island Panagia Oinousson inside fish cages. They are from Palestine and Iran. As two of them reported they had tried to reach Chips island from Cesme in turkey in the night of Thursday. Their boat turned around and they swam for more than 10 hours to reach the island. It is yet unknown if there were more persons inside the same boat.

newsit (in greek)

Greece

Greece: MSF raises concerns after boat tragedy in Lesvos

Greece: MSF raises concerns after boat tragedy in Lesvos
Date Published: 19/12/2012 11:10

On the dawn of Friday 14th December, a boat sank near the coast of the Greek island of Lesvos where Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been providing medical and relief assistance to newly arrived migrants and refugees since October. It is believed that 28 migrants were on board. The death toll has so far risen to 21 while the coast guard is still looking for six missing people. There is only one survivor so far, an 18 year old male.
Continue reading Greece: MSF raises concerns after boat tragedy in Lesvos →

Greece

Interview with the survivor of the ship tragedy in Lesvos

The interview was held by Ilias Maravas for EPA Aigaiou

I remember that I arrived at the shore. I looked for them but I couldn’t find anyone. Then I remember that I woke up in the hospital.

The only survivor of the refugee tragedy of Friday near Lesvos island is a 16-year-old from Bamiyan in Afghanistan. He had entered a dinghy with 28 other Afghans on Friday when after one hour the dinghy started getting into distress and water entered the boat. It turned around and they all fell into the sea.
Continue reading Interview with the survivor of the ship tragedy in Lesvos →