• They were rescued by KWS officials after sending distress call.
• KWS officers were able to retrieve two of the sunken boats while the third one remained untraceable.
@ppcheti
Six people escaped death on Wednesday after three boats they were using to transport miraa to Somalia capsized at Ashuwei near the deadly Mlango wa Tanu channel in Mkokoni, Lamu East.
The tides were occasioned by the strong winds currently being witnessed at sea.
The six were, however, rescued by Kenya Wildlife Service officers from the nearby Mkokoni camp after one of the sailors made a distress call.
Tonnes of miraa worth millions of shillings plummeted into the ocean during the accident which was confirmed by Lamu senior KWS warden Mathias Mwavita.
Mwavita said four of the sailors were in critical condition after taking in water during the accident.
He said they were rushed to the Mkokoni dispensary for first aid before being moved to King Fahd Hospital in Lamu Island.
The KWS officers were able to retrieve two of the sunken boats while the third one remained untraceable.
“Upon receiving the distress call, our officers responded swiftly and were able to save all the six sailors. We were, however, not able to save the miraa they were ferrying as it sank into the ocean fast,” Mwavita said.
The accident was also confirmed by the County Disaster Response Team head Luqman Abdulaziz.
“They lost everything but we are glad they are all doing okay. Life is important, they will live to fight another day,” Abdulaziz said.
He warned that certain channels remain out of use at this period when the ocean is witnessing strong winds and high tides.
They include the Mkanda, Manda Bruno, Mlango wa Tanu, Mlango wa Bomani, Mlango wa Alii, Mlango wa Kipungani and the Shella channels, where hundreds of sailors and fishermen have perished.
“The best thing to do is to avoid using these channels at all costs at this particular time. The tides being witnessed there can overpower even the sophisticated of boats."
The worst-ever accident witnessed at the channels was that of August 13, 2017, when a boat carrying ODM politician Shekue Kahale and 11 of his family members capsized at the Manda Bruno channel killing all aboard except the politician.
In June 20 that year, 10 people among them four children died after their boat, which was heading to Ndau Island from Lamu town, capsized at the Mkanda Channel due to high tides.
Edited by R.Wamochie