Diver recalls 12 days of gruelling rescue, recovery mission after ferry disaster

Chief diver, Abdulhamid Haq during the interview on the rescue and recovery mission during the Mtongwe ferry disaster in Mombasa, on April 28, 2025. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

Abdulhamid Haq has been involved in several delicate marine rescue operations in Kenya and the region.

He was a leading rescuer in the Mtongwe ferry disaster, the 1996 MV Bukoba in Tanzania, and the 2019 Mariam Kighenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu rescue at the Likoni ferry that tested his skills.

Haq, 67, has fresh memories of the April 29, 1994, Mtongwe 1 ferry disaster, where he was called by the Kenya Navy to join the rescue and recovery mission. The ferry had just sunk 40 metres from land near the navy headquarters at about 7.00 am that morning.