Four Injured In Likoni Ferry Stampede

At least four people, among them a 17-year-old boy, were injured on Saturday night while trying to board a ferry at the Likoni crossing point in Mombasa.

Witnesses said the four were injured in a stampede after hundreds of passengers attempted to board the ferry all at once leading to chaos.

This is after one of the ferries deployed for operations broke down.

Officials said one of their dependable ferries, MV Jambo, is no longer in service after it broke down, affecting operations at the major crossing.

This has caused a crisis that is slowly boiling and may lead to a disaster if not well managed, officials warned.

Kenya Ferry said their security stewards were overpowered and overwhelmed by the multitude of people who had been waiting to board the vessel Saturday night.

This left four passengers injured.

The incident happened just as MV Likoni – which is currently being used to move passengers across the channel – neared the docking point at 8:00pm.

“Some of the passengers began jumping onto the ferry even before it had been properly docked, leading to the chaotic scenes,” said the officials.

The injured passengers were rushed to Mombasa General Hospital.

Two were treated and allowed to go home, but two were admitted at the hospital officials said.

The crossing is key and needs to be managed well for safety purpose.

There are hopes with the conclusion and opening of the Dongo Kundu crossing, traffic will ease in general.