27 dead, 83 missing after passenger ferry capsizes off Guyana
Initial signs indicate that the ship flipped over after being hit by a big wave, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said
At least 27 people are dead and 83 more are missing after a ferry capsized off the coast of Guyana over the weekend, Prime Minister Mark Phillips said on Monday.
The search for survivors is continuing after the MV Barima flipped over late on Saturday, with Phillips telling a press conference that 69 people had been rescued so far. The previous death toll had stood at 10.
The ageing ferry MV Barima left the small English-speaking country at the northeast corner of South America on Saturday afternoon with at least 133 people aboard for a trip from the capital Georgetown to Port Kaituma.
Port Kaituma is inland in the oil-rich Essequibo region and the ferry travels along the coast in the Atlantic before heading upriver to reach its jungle destination.
Guyanese Public Works Minister Juan Edghill told a press conference on Sunday that a ship manifest listing 133 people on board was not “a true reflection of the occupants on board”, asking family members and loved ones to reach out to officials to create an official tally of those missing.
Preliminary findings found that the ship flipped over after being hit by a big wave, Edghill said earlier on social media. “Search and Rescue Advancing. 67 persons, inclusive of 15 children rescued so far,” he said.