18 injured in ferry stampede as yet another vessel is grounded
What you need to know:
- The incident comes even as it emerged that the country’s newest vessel has been grounded.
- It is among two that were recently bought at a cost of Sh2 billion.
The injury of 18 people yesterday following a stampede at the Likoni channel has once again turned the spotlight on ferry services at the busy crossing.
The incident comes even as it emerged that the country’s newest vessel, which is among two that were recently bought at a cost of Sh2 billion, has been grounded.
The ferry which had been operational for barely three months has been withdrawn after it was hit on the side by another vessel, MV Kwale.
The accident left only three ferries operating on Tuesday evening, which led to a massive congestion at the channel.
STAMPEDE
The resulting stampede saw 18 people get injured as they rushed to get space in the available ferries.
They were rushed to the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital after being given First Aid by the Kenya Red Cross.
Yesterday, the Nation confirmed a number of those injured had been discharged from the hospital.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) said in a statement that MV Safari had a breach on its hull which caused water to flood the engine room.
“We are currently emptying out water from the engine room. The hole will be temporarily repaired once the water has been emptied,” KFS managing director Bakari Gowa said.
By yesterday morning, MV Safari was still docked as engineers worked on it. Operations were however smooth as four other ferries — MV Jambo, MV Kilindini, MV Likoni and MV Kwale — were ferrying people and vehicles.
Since its arrival in April, MV Safari has been critical to operations at the channel because of its huge capacity.
