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Retrieval of car, bodies in Likoni: As it happened

Friday October 11 2019
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The vehicle that slipped off at the Likoni channel in Kenya’s coastal town Mombasa on September 29. The was pulled out at 4pm on October 11, 2019. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By NATION AFRICA

The bodies of a woman and her daughter who drowned at the Likoni Channel in Kenya’s coastal town Mombasa 13 days ago have been recovered.

The bodies of Mariam Kighenda, 35, and Amanda Mutheu, 4, were pulled from the Indian Ocean on Friday afternoon.

The vehicle, which the victims were in when it slipped off MV Harambee on September 29, was found following efforts by a multi-agency team.

This was the order of events Friday:

  • 9.11am - Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna briefs the media about the process that began at 7.30am. He says he is hopeful the process will be completed before Friday ends.

  • 10.00am - Normal ferry services at the Likoni Channel continue. A number of ships also enter and exit the port. The ferries avoid the spot where the operations were taking place.

  • 11.20am - Two divers from the SubSeas company who participated in the operation come out of the water.

  • 11.40am - Kenya Red Cross prepares three body bags as completion of retrieval exercise is anticipated.

  • 12.00pm -  A section of close relatives including Ms Kighenda's husband are allowed into the Mbaraki Wharf. They had earlier been asked to stay away from the scene after chaos erupted yesterday when the family together with some civil society groups demanded answers from the government.

  • 12.30pm - A huge crane from Southern Engineering Company (SECO) arrive at the scene. It is suspected to be the one which will lift the body from the shore.

  • 12.30pm - Mombasa County Transport and Infrastructure CEC Tawfiq Balala arrived to condole with the husband of Ms Kighenda.

  • 12.40pm - KFS staff arrived with a bouquet of red flowers, stores them.

  • 12.45pm - Engineers at the pontoon tie a rope in the crane suspected to be hooker to the vehicle under the water.

  • 13.10pm - Tug boats start pulling the vehicle towards the shore.
  • 2.30pm - Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and Mvita MP Abdulswamad Sherrif arrive at Mbaraki Wharf.

  • 4.00pm - The vehicle is pulled out from the water.

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