Diver recalls 12 days of gruelling rescue, recovery mission after ferry disaster

Chief diver, Abdulhamid Haq during the interview on the rescue and recovery mission during the Mtongwe ferry disaster in Mombasa, on April 28, 2025. [Omondi Onyango, Standard] Abdulhamid Haq has been involved in several delicate marine rescue operations in Kenya and the region. He was a leading rescuer in the Mtongwe ferry disaster, the 1996 MV Bukoba in Tanzania, and the 2019 Mariam Kighenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu rescue at the Likoni ferry that tested his skills. Haq, 67, has fresh memories of the April 29, 1994, Mtongwe 1 ferry disaster, where he was called by the Kenya Navy to join the rescue and recovery mission. The ferry had just sunk 40 metres from land near the navy headquarters at about 7.00 am that morning. He rushed to the scene with six divers from his firm, Stonia Marine Contractor, and embarked on the mission that took them 12 gruelling days. The seawater was dark, and there were spring tides that made the operation difficult and risky. About 25 divers, including those from the Kenya Navy, participated in the mission following Kenya's biggest marine accident that claimed 272 lives. The small vessel operated by Kenya Ferry Services capsized when it was carrying an estimated 400 passengers sailing from the mainland south to Mombasa Island. According to Haq, refloating the ferry with most bodies trapped on the lower deck presented the most challenge to divers who used loaded balloons, a barge and a winch to pull out the wreckage. There were balloons of 20 tonnes and five tonnes used to pull out the ferry. It was refloated on day nine, but the mission was accomplished on the twelfth day, he observed. "One of the divers nearly lost his life. His bag was running out of oxygen, and he was struggling for survival," he explained. And when the ferry was finally pulled out, decomposing bodies were laid on the barge for another gruelling moment of identification. In an interview, Haq says sea diving is risky, and it is advisable for two divers to go down together and offer assistance to each other in case one has a problem. A third one is supposed to be on standby outside. He has to dive with a knife in case he is entangled by ropes and a watch to time their stay underwater to avoid exhausting their air bags. As the operation dragged on for days, divers faced hostility from family members protesting at delays. Haq, who currently works in Somaliland, recalls that the then-Mvita MP Shariff Nassir and nominated MP Rashid Sajjad had to come to their rescue. "The politicians protected us from angry family members and onlookers and provided us with food and water," he explained. He declined to be paid by the government after the recovery mission because he had volunteered to serve under the Kenya Navy diving team. For his leading role, Haq was awarded the Silver Star medal by President Daniel arap Moi, which was presented to him by the then-Kenya Ports Authority MD Simeon Mkalla. The diver believes the ferry listed due to overload before it sank. The coxswain Mwinyi Ramadhan Mwachinyezi, who has since retired, managed to swim to safety. Popularly known as "Don" because of mentorship work, Haq started his diving career in 1976 at Divecon International Company in Mombasa after undergoing a six-month training course under a US instructor. His swimming passion started when he was in school, and the professional training perfected it. He says apart from rescue, divers can carry out nautical surveys where they locate objects deep at the seabed. His second most challenging risk was the recovery operation following the sinking of the MV Bukoba ferry in Mwanza, Tanzania, in 1996. He teamed up with naval divers from Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa in the 25-day operation that saw them recover about 100 bodies. Blood donation The vessel capsized near Mwanza town on its voyage from Bukoba with 1,000 passengers on board. His most recent salvage operation was when Kighenda and her daughter Amanda drowned in their car after it dropped from a ferry midstream at the Likoni channel in 2019. Serving under the Kenya Navy, Haq recalls that he took a lead in a nautical survey of the Likoni channel where they identified five sites where the search was conducted. "I was able to identify five places that were 28 metres deep, and we finally located the car in one of these places," he stated. He says a diver has to go for a regular medical checkup to ensure he is healthy because any illness can cost his life while at work. Haq also donates blood every year to enhance his health. "I donate blood every year because it helps renew the blood cells and make me stronger," he explained. Haq is urging the Mombasa County government to establish a diving school to train a pool of young divers. He says there is also a need for divers to form a trade union and have uniform charges for their work to improve earnings. Locally, he says, a diver is paid Sh15,000 per diving session compared to $250 (about Sh32,250) paid outside Kenya.

Diver recalls 12 days of gruelling rescue, recovery mission after ferry disaster

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Diver recalls 12 days of gruelling rescue, recovery mission after ferry disaster

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