Divers in Lamu have intensified their search for a lobster fisherman who went missing at sea on Monday.
Mohamed Athman, 28, was among a group of eight lobster divers who had gone hunting for the sea food at the Manda-Bruno channel in Lamu island.
He was reported missing hours later by his colleagues after he failed to swim back up hours after diving.
Normally, a group of lobster fishermen will anchor their boat on the water then disperse to dive for the lobster in different locations and then meet in the boat after a few hours to head back home.
All the seven other fishermen turned up at the agreed location but Athman did not, prompting them to alert the Kenya Maritime Authority office in Lamu.
A search was immediately mounted by divers from the KMA, Red Cross, county government and local divers.
Two days later, there has been no sign of the man and the divers now fear that he might have drowned and his body washed away downstream.
Lamu County government disaster management director Shee Kupi said the search and recovery efforts have been intensified and are being concentrated at the Manda-Bruno channel.
He however said the search will also be expanded to surrounding areas as the chances of the body having been washed further away from the rough waves at the channel are high.
“Unfortunately, we are no longer searching for a living person but are trying to recover a body. Chances of him being alive are nil at this point considering the location he disappeared at. The channel is very rough and the water current here is very strong,” Kupi said.
He urged fishermen and sailors in Lamu to exercise extreme caution while at sea and keep off from dangerous channels like the Manda-Bruno.
Other renowned dangerous and killer channels in the Lamu Archipelago include Mlango wa Tanu in Mkokoni, Mlango wa Ali in Kiwayu, Mlango wa Bomani in Kiunga, the Mkanda and Shella channels and Mlango wa Kipungani.
They are labeled ‘killer channels’ because of their location in the deepest parts of the ocean and are also characterised by rough tides and deadly waves.
Hundreds have lost their lives in those channels.
“The sea is normally rough in December going onto January and so it’s better for all those plying here to be very careful,”Kupi said.
There have been continued calls from residents and county leaders for the establishment of a well-defined emergency rescue centre to help save lives during marine accidents.
In February this year, the decomposing body of lobster fisherman Mbwana Badi from Kizingitini island in Lamu East was retrieved at Kwabuka beach in Faza island after he drowned at Rasini area.
-Edited by SKanyara
