The car involved in the Likoni ferry tragedy that happened almost two weeks ago has been successfully pulled out of the water.
The recovery operation to retrieve the ill-fated Toyota Isis, registration plate KCB 289C, and the bodies of Mariam Kighenda and her four year-old daughter Amanda Mutheu has finally ended.
The car was brought ashore at around 4pm after what has been a long wait.
The team in charge of the operation managed to successfully hook the crane to the vehicle in the morning, a challenge they faced on Thursday, leading to the postponement of the process.
Balloons were attached to the car to enable it float as it was being taken out of the ocean.
Now the car is being pulled https://t.co/4iMDvzb34I
— Kenya Ferry Services (@FerryKenya) October 11, 2019
Pulling the car from the water raising it to dry land https://t.co/kGOlsbyBgC
— Kenya Ferry Services (@FerryKenya) October 11, 2019
BREAKING NEWS: Car containing bodies of Mariam and her daughter Amanda successfully retrieved from the Likoni channel, 13 days since the operation began. #RecoveryInTheDeep pic.twitter.com/DpgWJIm9eX
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) October 11, 2019
The success of the mission came after 13 long gruelling days that were marred with setbacks and frustrations.
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho was present during the final part of the mission together with the family of the two victims.
On Thursday, the government, through its spokesperson Cyrus Oguna, halted the operation to the disappointment of the family and the country.
Oguna stated that the operation would have been concluded by evening after positively locating and identifying the vehicle on Wednesday.
According to the former KDF spokesperson, the operation was suspended due to high underwater currents which made it difficult for the car to be hooked to the machine meant to retrieve it.
“Caution has to be taken when removing the car because of the bodies of the victims inside,” remarked Oguna.
He, however, assured the public that a different approach would be used if the problem persisted.
The military man explained that they would manually send the divers with the equipment under water to ensure it was fully attached to the wreckage in a bid to avoid slipping back into the abyss.