Jomvu MP Badi Twalib with one of the recovered
bodies at the Tudor Water Sports on Sunday / BRIAN OTIENO
Jomvu MP Badi Twalib [R] with families of the deceased
at the Tudor Water Sports on Sunday / BRIAN OTIENOTwo more bodies from Friday’s Tudor Creek racing
boat tragedy have been retrieved from the ocean.
This means all three bodies of the missing persons
from the ill-fated MV Dragon that capsized at around 5.30pm Friday, have been
found.
The bodies were found at around 1.30am Monday.
The first body was found near the scene of the accident, stuck in mangrove trees.
The other body was found near the Nyali bridge, about 2 km away, as it was being pushed by currents.
“It is by good luck the body was found before it
crossed the bridge to the other side of the ocean. If it had crossed, it would
have been more difficult to find,” Jomvu MP Badi Twalib told the Star on the phone.
The recovery of the three bodies was a result of the
multi-agency team that involved 17 boats from different agencies, including the
Kenya Coast Guard Services, the Kenya Navy, National Police Service, The Kenya
Forest Service, Beach Management Unit.
It is the Old Town BMU members who found the three
bodies.
Governor Abdulswamad Nassir and Mvita MP Mohamed
Machele have been visiting the Tudor Water Sports, the scene of the tragedy
every day since it happened.
MP Twalib has been camping in the area.
“Please, allow me to go sleep. I have 72 hours of
sleep that is attacking me. I have not slept since the tragedy,” Twalib told the
Star at 4am.
The MP has been camping at the scene in solidarity
with the families of the deceased because they hail from Bangladesh slums, in
his Jomvu constituency.
The MV Dragon that capsized was being used by the Kijiweni Youth Group, from Bangladesh, who were in the knockout
stage of the dragon boat race, competing with Burhani and Tourist Police.
There were 22 people in the race
at the time of tragedy. Nineteen were rescued.
It was while in competition and
near the finishing line that the Kijiweni Youth Group members allegedly got
excited and stood up as the boat was still in motion.
The boat lost its balance and
capsized.
Nine teams were participating in
the racing event.
Apart from the three, others were
the Kenya Navy, Kenya Coast Guard Services, Maritime, Mudhuba, BMU,
Mushomoroni, Bandari, and TUMW.
The race was part of The East
African Ocean Festival, a celebration aimed at promoting ocean activities and
boosting coastal tourism.
The Kenya Red Cross team has been
on site, bringing the body bags.
All the three bodies, which have
been positively identified by the families, have been taken to the Coast
General Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue for preservation.
“When a tragedy like this happens,
the multi-agency team that is there will write a report and hand it over relevant
authorities for action,” Dan Manyala, the Mombasa county transport executive,
who is also in charge of disaster management, said.
He has also been camping at the
scene of tragedy with MP Twalib.
The survivors and families of the deceased
will receive support from both the national and county government.
Ends...
PICs:
Jomvu MP Badi Twalib left with families of the deceased
at the Tudor Water Sports on Sunday / BRIAN OTIENO
Jomvu MP Badi Twalib with one of the recovered
bodies at the Tudor Water Sports on Sunday / BRIAN OTIENO
