Aid to Civil Authority

AID TO CIVIL AUTHORITY

In 1991, two vehicles were recovered , one at Nyamindi River in Embu District and the other at Mokowe Jetty , Lamu District. This was followed by recovery of a civilian vehicle at River Nzoia and ammunition at Athi River .

HSL Jambia divers around the scene of MV Mtongwe I ferry disaster as anxious onlookers view from the shores .

In 1993, Navy divers were instrumental in the recovery of a Kenya Wildlife Service outboard engine at the Old Port Mombasa . Later the same year, they successfully undertook the recovery of MV Said , also at the old Port Mombasa.

In April 1994 Kenya Navy divers were called upon on a chilly morning to assist search, rescue and salvage bodies from the ill-fated sunken MV Mtongwe I ferry which went down with over 270 Passengers on board . Working in extremely difficult and overwhelming conditions, the Navy put in all available resources, both human and equipment, and managed to salvage the wreck of the ferry and retrieved dead bodies.

The Navy boats that were on standby duties managed to save over 70 people and the divers immediately started the salvaging work. The Mtongwe I Ferry was sunk 60 feet below the water surface and the extreme conditions hampered the salvage exercise. The exercise took five days to accomplish and by May 3rd, the ill-fated ferry was salvaged .

HSL Jambia together with Kenya Navy tugboats assemble at the scene the MV Mtongwe I ferry .

Just one month after this tragic accident the Navy divers were called upon to salvage its own vessel KNS Chui from May 18th until 30th of the same year. During the 1996 Bukoba Ferry disaster in Tanzania , Kenya Navy divers were invited to undertake salvage operations of MV Bukoba in Mwanza , Tanzania where over 800 people perished in the ferry disaster.

In 1997 the Navy was called upon during the El-Nino flooding disaster whereby roads were rendered impassable. River Tana was surveyed for navigability as the only alternative route for use in ferrying goods, including food deliveries and services to the stranded populace. The following year, 1998, the Navy divers were deployed again to search and recover KNS Galana's bow door which sunk in Manda Bay . This operation was so successful that the door was recovered and reinstated back.

In January 2000, tragedy hit our national carrier the Kenya Airways when one of its aircraft, Flight KQ 431 plunged in Abidjan , off the Cote D'Ivoire coast killing over 200 passengers on board. Kenya Navy divers were called upon by the government to search and recover the ill-fated Aircraft and the bodies . Sadly, one of the divers from the Clearance Diving Squadron perished on duty while undertaking the salvage operations . This was a double loss for the Navy and the country at large.

Lieutenant Colonel Mike Osinde in Cote D'Ivoire at the scene of the accident where Kenya Air ways aircraft flight KQ 431 plunged in to the ocean killing over 200 people on board.Tragically, one of the Kenya Navy divers sergeant J Karisa perished at the scene.

In our own waters of Sabaki River in Malindi District two buses, Tawfiq and TSS collided at the bridge and both plunged in to the crocodile infested waters of the Sabaki River . Navy divers and personnel commanded by the then Brigadier A M Rob ( now Major General ) waded these dangerous waters and undertook search and rescue operations successfully

Kenya Navy Personnel salvaging the wreckage of a Tawfiq bus from the Sabaki River at the scene of its collision with a TSS Bus at the Sabaki Bridge,Malindi.

In Taita-Taveta District of Coast province, a British woman tourist drowned at the manmade Lake Challa in 2002 and it took the courage of the Navy divers to retrieve the body of the victim .

Flooding is a perennial problem in Western Province of Kenya , particularly during the wet season of the long rains. The Kenya Navy has occasionally been called upon to evacuate the flood victims marooned in the flood lands to higher grounds in an operation code named Punguza Shida .

At the Sasumua and Ndakaini Dams Navy personnel were called in 2003 to de-silt and open the water entry points . At Nyali Bridge , Mombasa District, a lorry full of sand plunged in the Indian Ocean killing four passengers on board. Navy Divers were involved in the successful salvage of the ill-fated lorry and the retrieval of the bodies of the victims of the accident .

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