This archive report was first published on 4 October 2019.
On October 3, 2019, a Swedish national, Volker Bassen, made headlines after claiming he could locate the sunken vehicle in the Likoni ferry disaster within 15 minutes.
Bassen, a scuba diver and whale shark expert, and CEO of the East Africa Whale-Shark Trust, stated that he had enough equipment and expertise to locate the vehicle and retrieve the bodies of Mariam Kighenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu from the ocean in a record two hours.
His claim was met with mixed reactions, with some people expressing skepticism and doubt over his ability to accomplish the task.
Some Twitter users questioned Bassen's credentials and experience, with one user stating, 'Ridiculous…just a mere Swedish guy 15 minutes to locate the submerged car. this is just an attention seeker since we have a government with machineries and resources to do so and it has not managed where is he coming from to pretend to be first and unique.'
Others, however, praised Bassen's expertise and expressed support for his efforts, with one user saying, 'From what this guy is saying its evident its not a walk in the park. Did you hear ‘Nitrogen narcosis’ find the ‘right vehicle’ ‘shark cage’. Say no more that Navy ain’t trying to save them.'
Bassen's claim has sparked a heated debate over the rescue efforts and the capabilities of the Kenya Navy.
