Oguna explains delay in retrieval of the sunken vehicle
The recovery operation at Likoni to retrieve the sunken vehicle and bodies of Mariam Kighendi and Amanda Mutheu was delayed for about an hour on Thursday morning.
The retrieval which was to begin 9am did not begin as intended.
Government Spokesman Col (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna said the channel traffic, huge ocean currents and scheduled docking of two ships has caused the delay.
“We are waiting for the people crossing the Likoni ferry area to reduce in number before we can start the process because we do not want any interference,” Oguna said.
Oguna added that the speed of huge ocean currents has prevented divers from resuming operations as earlier planned.
He maintained that the safety of the divers was paramount even as they seek to retrieve the car that was spotted on Wednesday afternoon, 11 days after it submerged.
The government spokesman also noted that they are waiting for two ships to cross the channel for the retrieval to go on as planned.
RECOVERY OPERATION
Once the ships pass the divers will be cleared to resume the recovery operations.
On Wednesday evening, Oguna stated they had located the vehicle which was lying in the cold and muddy seabed, 58 metres deep and trapped in a cave.
“At around 3am, we had announced that we have seen an object that resembles a car. For several hours, we have been scanning the area and we have finally established that it is a vehicle. We have found the number is KCB 289C,” said Oguna.
He said this registration number is of the same vehicle that plunged into the Indian Ocean on September 29 with the two occupants in it.
“We have confirmed through the underwater cameras that this is the same vehicle. However, we’ve not been able to ascertain if the bodies are still in the vehicle or not,” said Oguna.