Sinking feeling in Zanzibar over slow response to ship accident

Sinking feeling in Zanzibar over slow response to ship accident


Zanzibari President Abeid Karume (second from left) with ministers and port authority officials at the scene of the ship accident on Saturday. Three bodies have been recovered from the cargo ship which capsized on Friday. Photos/ MPOKI BUKUKU

By SALMA SAID in ZanzibarPosted Sunday, May 31 2009 at 18:07
In Summary

Rescue teams arrive 10 hours too late as President Karume asks Dar for help


Lack of appropriate emergency rescue equipment and slow response to disaster returned to haunt Tanzania’s marine transport on Saturday as divers struggled for hours to find survivors of a ship accident in Zanzibar.

Three bodies had been recovered by yesterday from MV Fatih which capsized as it prepared to anchor at the Malindi Port. Local police chief Bakari Khatib Shaaban confirmed the deaths.

At least 27 people swam to safety. Eight others were reported missing in the 10 p.m. accident.

The cargo ship owned by Seagul Company Limited was sailing from Dar es Salaam to Pemba via Zanzibar.

“It was preparing to anchor and most of us were heading out when it suddenly tilted and overturned,” said Ms Halima Mussa, a resident of Arusha, who was among the survivors.

Rekindled memories

The accident rekindled memories of the MV Bukoba that sunk in Lake Victoria in 1996 killing more than 800 people.

Last month another ship headed for the Comoros Island from the Tanga Port also sunk and is believed to have killed an estimated 20 people whose bodies have since not been recovered.

Relatives of the victims and businessmen whose cargo sunk with the ship were angry at rescuers arriving more than 10 hours after the accident.

“The ship sunk at 10 p.m. but those sent to help came this morning at 9 a.m.,” said Mr Ali Hajji, who said his relative was in the vessel.

“It is annoying because they arrived without any equipment and are as helpless as we are. All of us are just watching, save for the divers who have not recovered anything.”

There were 30 divers at the scene.

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/-/1066/605016/-/13a06xhz/-/index.html