Moments before disaster

Zanzibar. It was the ferryboat crew clad in life jackets as they struggled to scoop water out of the vessel who triggered alarm in some of the passengers in the Mv Spice Islander I, moments before the ship went under on Friday night.Minutes later, an announcement from the ship captain, telling the passengers to remain calm as the seamen would bring everything under control, was another signal that something was amiss.
It was then that passengers started to alert one another, with some starting run and screaming. In no time, there was total confusion in the ship that is believed to have carried more than 1,000 passengers.Some of those who survived the ordeal told The Citizen yesterday that in the commotion that ensued, only a few managed to grab life jackets and even fewer managed to put them on correctly.

Some accounts have it that some people died or got seriously injured during the stampede, as everybody was “for himself and it didn’t matter who you trampled on as you struggled to  save your life.”

“The situation got worse when the engines of the ship stopped. By then, even the seamen were in panic. Most of them were at a loss on what to do as more water kept flowing in fast, rendering fruitless their efforts to scoop it out,” said Mr Shaame Faki Ally, 26, who was going to Pemba to attend a relative’s marriage.

Mr Ally said they were in a group of 36, but only four of them survived. Until yesterday, only seven bodies of the remaining 32 had been retrieved.

Speaking from a hospital bed at Mnazi Mmoja where he has been admitted, Mr Ally described the scene in the ship moments before the disaster struck as horrific. “Some of the passengers ran over each other, each striving to his or her life” said Mr Ally.In emotional interviews at the hospital, some of the survivors failed to recount the events, only  saying their escape was  ‘God’s miracle”.

Mr Ally said the nightmare began at around 12.30am, the moment he saw some seamen trying scoop out water.
“I hurried back to the top deck where most of my relatives were sleeping and I alerted them of the impending danger... they started to pray as I tried to call some relatives in Dar, Pemba and Unguja,” he said, noting that he could not remember if he managed to talk to anyone on the phone.

He said that a few minutes later, the ferryboat started to sink. “It was then that I realised we were in serious trouble. I jumped from the ship and because I am a good swimmer, I went back in the sinking ship and started to pull out some of my relatives.

“Some passengers did not know how to swim, so I looked for any floating object to help them stay afloat. In one of my trips to the sinking ship, I got trapped but luckily, I managed to get hold of a piece of wood which I used to smash the window and free myself,” he said. He said he rejoined six relatives he had saved but few minutes later they were separated by a strong sea current.

He said he continued to hold on some objects until around 11am on Saturday when he was rescued.
“After staying in water for nine hours, I saw a helicopter and I waved my life jacket in the air and they saw me and released a rope that I grabbed... shortly afterwards, I lost consciousness. I regained consciousness only to find myself in this hospital bed,” he said.

One of the youngest survivors, Saidi Gerald, 6, could hardly speak as he recalled seeing her sister, Yustra Gerald, 12, on the floor as other passengers ran over her.Speaking with the aid of her aunt, Ms Mariam Hemed, Saidi said he was so frightened, but he tried to save himself. Ms Saidi, together with her sister, were travelling to Pemba.

“He doesn’t remember anything apart from seeing her sister laying down on the floor; I became aware of the accident when my relatives from Pemba called me…when I came here I found Yustra who had suffered chest injuries, but she was discharged on Sunday evening. I continued with my search and found Saidi who was still unconscious,” Mrs Hemedi said.

Mr Ali Mgwali Juma, 65, and Mrs Mtumwa Mndungi, 60, were two of the most senior passengers in the ship. They both attribute their survival to God.

“As you can see me, I can hardly move let alone swim, yet I survived simply by God’s grace… it was a miracle. After the ship capsized, I found myself in the sea holding to a mattress together with other passengers,” Mr Juma remembered.