Beaten By Rain…Over 800 Passengers Languish In Ferry

By Mohamed Kamara

Over 800 passengers travelling to Lungi with the first Ferry Journey on Sunday May 20 2024, languished inside the Mahera Ferry at Freetown Terminal, as Torrential rain leaked from the roof of the passenger space, with heavy wind blowing from all sides, leaving passengers shivering.

Mahera, scheduled to depart at 8:00 am, only left the shores of the Ferry Terminal at 9:45 a.m., the cloud went darker creating visibility challenges. All passengers had to stand on the flooded floors of the ferry as the downpour continued.
Hawkers stopped their movements and passengers squeezed each other into a meter long dry space inside the Ferry.

At the Targin terminal, the worst happened, as the first Ferry, equally scheduled to depart Ferry Targin for Freetown, was wrecked in a Sandy Sport, with hundreds of passengers left under the rain to be transported by smaller boats. Scores of vehicles could not be removed and both passengers from the diaspora and Sierra Leoneans had their luggage’s sprayed with water. They boarded the Mahera Ferry, with disappointment taking over their conversations. Most passenger interviewed blamed the Ferry Management for failing to make protective arrangements for the leaks on the roof of the passenger area, before the commencement of the rainy season, others blamed government for failing to monitor safety measures. While others blamed Members of Parliament and Councilors for failing to pile pressure on the Ferry Management over safety measures.