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All three victims of the Tudor Creek boat accident that occurred on Friday evening have now been recovered.
According to authorities, the last two bodies from the ill-fated MV Dragon—which capsized at around 5:30 p.m. during a dragon boat race—were retrieved from the ocean early Monday morning, around 1:30 a.m.
The first victim’s body was discovered earlier, trapped in mangrove trees near the accident site. The second was found about two kilometers away near Nyali Bridge, pushed by ocean currents.
“It was pure luck that the body was recovered before crossing to the other side of the bridge, where it would have been much harder to trace,” said Jomvu MP Badi Twalib.
The recovery effort was a joint operation involving 17 boats from multiple agencies, including the Kenya Coast Guard Service, Kenya Navy, National Police Service, Kenya Forest Service, and Beach Management Units (BMUs). Members of the Old Town BMU were the ones who ultimately located the three bodies.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir and Mvita MP Mohamed Machele have been visiting the Tudor Water Sports site daily since the tragedy, while MP Twalib has remained stationed there to support families of the victims, who hailed from the Bangladesh slums in his constituency.
“Please, let me go sleep. I have 72 hours of sleep debt attacking me. I haven’t slept since the tragedy,” Twalib told press at around 4 a.m. Monday.
The MV Dragon, used by the Kijiweni Youth Group from Bangladesh, was competing against Burhani and Tourist Police teams in the knockout stage when it capsized. There were 22 participants in the race—19 were rescued, while three lost their lives.
Witnesses said the boat overturned near the finish line after some rowers stood up in excitement, causing it to lose balance.
Nine teams were part of the dragon boat competition, including Kenya Navy, Kenya Coast Guard Service, Maritime, Mudhuba, BMU, Mushomoroni, Bandari, and TUMW. The race was part of the East African Ocean Festival, an event designed to promote ocean sports and boost coastal tourism.
Kenya Red Cross personnel were on-site to assist with recovery operations and body handling. The bodies, which have been positively identified by their families, were taken to the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary.
Mombasa County Transport Executive and Disaster Management head Dan Manyala said a detailed report will be prepared by the multi-agency team and submitted to the relevant authorities for further action.
Both the national and county governments have pledged support to the survivors and families of the deceased.
