Four people killed in separate accidents in Mombasa

A man and his son died yesterday in Mombasa after a perimeter fence wall fell on them. [File, Standard]

A man and his son died yesterday in Mombasa after a perimeter fence wall of a freight station company fell on their house as they were sleeping.

Ignatus Lenjo, a church watchman, and his son Elie Lenjo were buried alive as they were sleeping when the wall behind their house collapsed and fell their house. 

In another incident, a family on a holiday at the coast ended in tragedy after a boat they were sailing capsized in the Indian Ocean, killing two family members.

The family of five had travelled to Mombasa from western Kenya to spend their holiday at the Coast.

But what began as a trip meant for family bonding quickly turned tragic when their boat overturned, throwing all five occupants into the water.

Two siblings drowned in the incident, while the other three family members were rescued.  The tragedy has left the family mourning the loss of their loved ones, cutting short what was meant to be a memorable holiday. Ocean,

The incident has also renewed concerns over the safety of tourists and other passengers using boats along the Coast, with questions being raised over adherence to maritime safety regulations and the availability of proper safety equipment.

Authorities are expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and establish what caused the boat to capsize. The holiday which started with excitement ended in grief.

And yesterday, village woman elder Sally Wauda, who arrived at the scene a few minutes after the alarm was raised by a woman, said that family members had been buried by a wall in Mikindani and narrated how they rescued the son of the man who had survived the incident.

"When I gained entrance into the Anointed Rock Ministry church compound, I found victims crying for help while the wife was wailing,” said Wauda.

She said that, with the help of members of the public who responded to the distress, they managed to retrieve the injured child, who was immediately rushed to the hospital with multiple injuries.

During the effort to help the victims, they contacted the owner of the company to help them with a forklift to help to lift the wall which had fallen on the two, but all was in vain.

"We managed to retrieve the first body of the elder son from the rubble, who had already succumbed to injuries inflicted by the impact of the wall on him,” said Wauda.

Wauda said they later removed that man from the debris while in serious condition. He died on his way to the hospital. "The bodies were later removed to Coast Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary," said Wauda.

Mombasa County Commissioner Mohamed Noor confirmed the incident and said the police had already launched an investigation into whether the company’s wall collapsed because of a heavy downpour or negligence of the company.

"We have launched an investigation into the circumstances which led to the incident to establish whether it was because of the rain or negligence of the company," said Noor.

Clemence Saro, the help of the Lenjo, who escaped with us, recalled how she tried to help the child, but there was nothing she could do.

She said the husband and the son died after the wall fell on them while sleeping. "I had just come from the church where I was praying. It was 11.20 when I heard a wall falling, when I had just completed praying.

When I had just walked to the house just four metres from the church’s door, I saw the wall falling and went out. Before I could realise what was going on, I heard my young son crying for help, but I could not help him because the wall which had fallen on them was too heavy.

"I raised the alarm, and people came for the rescue and later retrieved them from the debris." My elder son was removed while dead, and my husband was breathing before dying on the way to the hospital,” said Saro.