Kenya Navy Special Boat Unit (SBU) team on Monday rescued a crew of seven from a capsizing boat headed to Kismayu, Somalia .
In a statement via Twitter, the Kenya Defence Forces said the SBU team leader Lieutenant (Lt) Eric Irungu confirmed he received a signal from Kenya Navy Ship (KNS) Jasiri to attend to a distress call from MV Ferooz.
"We responded immediately and found the boat flooding and the engine was off. We immediately embarked on saving the crew before the boat capsized,” Lt Irungu said.
While expressing gratitude, the boat Chief Engineer Swaleh Lamazani emphasized the good relationship and cooperation accorded to them by the Kenya Navy service personnel.
"We developed technical complications after our water pump failed and water started flooding the boat’s main engine shutting it down. Realizing that we were taking in more water than we could draw out, we placed a distress call and Kenya Navy immediately came to our rescue," noted the engineer.
According to the Forces statement, KNS Jasiri had received a distress call from the boat captain Muhamud Salim prompting a swift response by the officers.
"I am grateful to Kenya Navy for their quick response and their efforts to save our lives," the boat Captain added.
The crew of seven, one Indian and six Tanzanians, were allegedly on board MV Ferooz on a voyage to Kismayu, Somalia from Dar Salaam in Tanzania to buy scrap metals.
The crew was rescued and handed over to Lamu Port Police Station for further processing.
