Search and rescue

The Italian government yesterday (13 August) welcomed Libya’s decision to bar foreign vessels from a stretch of water off its coast,a move that has prompted almost all international charities to halt migrant search and rescue operations in the area.

The German aid group Sea Eye on Aug. 13 said it was suspending its migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean, citing security concerns after Libya barred foreign vessels from a stretch of water off its coast.

Turkish authorities have closed Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on Thursday for rescuing a teenager who went missing one month ago, according to Xinhua News. 

The Istanbul Port Authority announced that the two-way traffic in the region had been shut down at 8:45 a.m. local time (0545 GMT) for the underwater search and rescue activities.

Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait was closed to naval traffic for eight hours on Aug. 10 amid search and rescue efforts for a man who has been missing since last month. 

Furkan Yıldırım, 17, went missing after going for a swim off the Arnavutköy neighborhood on the city's European side on July 15.

The Australian government said on Aug. 6 that it would deploy its armed forces to assist in recovery efforts after the U.S. Marine Corps suspended a search for three Marines missing since their aircraft crashed off Australia's northeast coast a day earlier.

A search-and-rescue dog named Şans (Luck), which has been a member of the İzmir Municipality Fire Department for 11 years, taking part in many missions including after the Van earthquake and the Soma mine disaster, has died. 

Two people killed in an aeroplane crash just outside the city of Larisa in central Greece, Thursday morning. The bodies were discovered a little after 3am when a small single engine aircraft from the Larisa air-club went missing.

The heroic crew of a Turkish ship that saved over 450 migrants off Libya has described the dramatic moments that unfolded during their rescue efforts. 

Tensions between Greece and Turkey are rising after the latter issued an international warning Navigational Telex signal (NAVTEX) effectively blockading access around the Greek island of Kastellorizo. Military sources in Athens note that the Navtex signal has completely encircled the Greek isle, which is located only 2km off the western coast of Turkey.

The Italian Coast Guard and humanitarian ships rescued 1,350 migrants in 12 separate operations in the Mediterranean on April 6 and one person was found dead.