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Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
During an ordinary night off on the Aegean Sea, Turkish Coast Guard search and rescue ship TCSG Umut (Hope) detected a dinghy full of Asian migrants dangerously traversing the waters toward Greece. The following photographs by Evren Atalay from Anadolu Agency show what happened before and after this discovery, which was not unusual at all. (Report: Emre Umurbilir - AA)
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
The dinghy was carrying 40 migrants from Syria, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Only some of them were wearing proper life vests, while others had the inner tubes of car tires around their waists or held in their hands.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
The Aegean is windy and the waves are high. Seeing that the migrants would simply drown if they continued toward Greece, personnel on the Turkish Coast Guard ship attempted to save them. But the migrants resisted, pushing away rescuers and trying to stop them from “catching” the dinghy.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Some migrants even jumped into the sea to swim toward Greece, leaving the Turkish coast behind. Luckily, after a great effort, the Turkish Coast Guard managed to bring all the migrants aboard the ship and take them to Turkey.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
The scene has been repeated almost every night on the Aegean Sea, with migrants trying to cross to Greece at all costs as the Turkish Coast Guard does everything it can. In the past 3.5 months, some 4,000 migrants have been saved by the Turkish Coast Guard.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Many of less fortunate drown in the dark waters of the Aegean if they were not rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard, usually against their own will.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
“Our priority is the life safety of irregular immigrants,” TCSG Umut commander Lieutenant Colonel Cüneyt Kara told Anadolu Agency on May 22.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
After spotting them on the Aegean, Turkish Coast Guard units first try to prevent their dinghies from capsizing and sinking before bringing the migrants, who often resist, on board for transport back to Turkey.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
More than 90 percent of migrants on the Aegean have been saved. The “popularity” of the sea stems from the fact that some Greek islands are less than two kilometers from the Turkish shore.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
This approach contradicts the EU’s plans to sink migrant smugglers’ boats before they reach Europe.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Turkish Coast Guard teams are on duty on a 7/24 basis. TCSG Umut is on duty on the Aegean, while three other ships with similar capabilities are based in Istanbul, Mersin and Samsun, operating respectively in the Marmara Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Since January 2013, the Turkish Coast Guard has rescued 27,076 migrants in 1030 search and rescue operations, while 164 human smugglers have been detained and put on trial
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Click through for more photos of the TCSG Umut and its nightly fight with the migrants on the Aegean Sea.
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
Nightly fight for life and death on Aegean Sea
As Asian migrants attempt to cross the Aegean Sea to reach Europe, the Turkish Coast Guard tries to keep them from risking their lives on overcrowded dinghies and brings them back to Turkey. Here is series of dramatic photos by Anadolu Agency showing the on-sea struggle seen almost every night on the Aegean.
ALL PHOTOS
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