This archive report was first published on 3 October 2019.
On October 3, 2019, a devastating incident occurred at the Likoni ferry crossing channel in Kenya, where a station wagon sank into the ocean, leaving two people trapped inside.
Search and recovery teams, led by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), have been working tirelessly to locate the wreckage and retrieve the occupants.
According to CCCC, the firm deployed an underwater robot to conduct a search over the ferry area immediately after receiving a distress signal from port authorities.
"We responded to the request of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) by deploying an underwater robot to conduct a search over the ferry area immediately," CCCC stated.
The robot has been successfully used in China, where rescuers retrieved a bus that had plunged into the Yangtze River in Chongqing Municipality on October 28, 2018, after a three-day search operation.
However, the multinational cautioned that the underwater environment is turbid and the water flow is too fast, making the search difficult.
The busy channel at Kilindini Harbour was temporarily closed for the fourth day as government intensified the search for the wreckage and bodies of the two victims.
The occupants of the sunken car were identified as 35-year-old Mariam Kigenda and her 4-year-old daughter Amanda Mutheu.
The tragedy has exposed safety lapses, with the operator of vessels at the ferry channel - Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) - coming under fierce criticism from coastal leaders who demanded the immediate resignation of its top managers, transport ministry, and port officials.
MPs Abdulswamad Nassir (Mvita), Mohamed Ali (Nyali), Mishi Mboko (Likoni), and Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga) called for the resignation of KFS Managing Director Bakari Gowa, Kenya Coast Guard Director General Brigadier Vincent, and Kenya Navy Commander Levy Franklin.
The deployment of a robot on Wednesday gave fresh impetus to the search and retrieval mission.
Prior to the deployment of the robot, divers unsuccessfully searched five probable locations of the car wreckage relying on their sense of touch, according to Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna.
The operation was later called off due to poor visibility and rains, even as a multi-agency team comprising the Navy, CCCC, maritime police, and KPA announced that the search had been widened to nine probable locations.
