Mombasa: A disaster happens with a boat with 22 people overturning during a sea festival

• Three people are feared to die after a boat overturned during the Dragon Boat Festival East Africa Ocean at Tudor Water Sports Club
• The MV Dragon ship overturned only a meter from the finish line, leaving 19 rescuers and one participant was seriously injured
• Eyewitnesses reported that many participants missed the rescue jackets during the race, which raised serious security concerns
• Rescue forces, including coastal guards and navalists, launched a search for many organizations while the chaos of audiences led to difficult activities

Three people are feared dead after a boat carrying 22 participants overturned during the East African Sea Festival (Teaof) at the Tudor Water Sports Club.

The event took place at 5:30 pm during the Dragon boat race at the festival, with a bad ship, MV Dragon, turning meters just from the finish line.

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The event had attracted hundreds of viewers and participants celebrating East African maritime culture and advertising marine tourism.

In a statement on Friday, October 10 after the incident, the Red Cross in Kenya said efforts were continuing to find the three.

“A boat with 22 passengers overturned during the East African Tudor Water Sports festival. So far 19 people have been rescued, while 3 are unknown. The information read.

The Chief Fire Officer in Mombasa County Ibrahim Basafar confirmed the incident and revealed that one participant was in serious condition and was rushed to Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital.

Basafar described the incident as chaos, noting that some viewers and young people began to ston the rescuers.

The ICU ambulance that provides oxygen to intensive resources was destroyed, and forced those who responded to call another car.

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The Nation report revealed that three disappeared participants are from informal areas in the coastal city.

The survivor Ishmael Onyango, who was in MV Dragon, narrated the chaos before the boat overturned.

“We were about to finish when our boat overturned. Everything was done faster,” He said.

Onyango also revealed that many participants missed the rescue jackets during the race, the biggest difference and training sessions earlier in the week.

“None of us have been wearing a life -saving jacket during the race. We received an invitation to participate in a dragon boat and we have been practicing since Monday. He said.

Participants and family members expressed frustration in what they described as security measures are not enough.

Victor Odongo, another participant from Bangladesh, claimed accountability, questioning how people brought from Bangladesh could face such danger.

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Mombasa County executive for land and urban planning Hussein Mohammed said the authority is cooperating with the service of Kenyan coastal guards, the Kenyan naval army, and volunteers to find lost participants.

The East African Sea Festival, now in its second version, is designed to promote naval sports, marine tourism, and environmental conservation.

The festival started on Thursday, October 9, with excitement in Fort Jesus, and naval games were scheduled to continue until Sunday.

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Source: TUKO.co.ke