Passenger Ferry Carrying 133 Capsizes Off Guyana, 2 Dead & Dozens Missing

Dozens of people remained missing on Monday after an ageing passenger ferry carrying at least 133 people capsized off Guyana’s Atlantic coast, killing at least two people, as rescue teams continued searching for survivors, authorities said.

So far, 67 people, including 15 children, have been rescued after the MV Barima overturned during its voyage from Georgetown to Port Kaituma in the oil-rich Essequibo region.

Authorities have recovered the bodies of one man and one woman, while everyone else who remains unaccounted for is being listed as missing rather than dead.

The ferry left Georgetown on Saturday afternoon with 116 passengers and 17 crew members on board. It was travelling to Port Kaituma, a town in the Essequibo region, following the Atlantic coastline before heading upriver to its destination.

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said preliminary findings suggest the ferry capsized after being hit by a large wave.

“Search and Rescue Advancing. Sixty-seven persons, inclusive of 15 children, rescued so far,” Edghill said in a social media post.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips said those rescued include 41 men, 11 women, six boys and nine girls.

He said the captain and the mate, who were among those rescued, had returned to the area to help with the search operation. Phillips also said officials have been in contact with the families of those rescued and the relatives of passengers and crew listed on the ferry’s manifest.

Edghill, however, said the passenger manifest showing 133 people on board was not an accurate record of everyone travelling on the ferry. He urged families to contact authorities to help prepare a verified list of passengers.

The ferry left Georgetown shortly after 3 p.m. on Saturday and sent a distress call at 11:01 p.m. local time, about eight hours into the journey.

Edghill said rescue efforts were slowed at first by darkness and a lack of vessels equipped with scanners to locate people in the water.

Later, companies from Guyana’s oil and gas sector deployed vessels with scanners, while government divers were sent to search inside the capsized ferry.

Authorities also expanded the search area from about 400 square kilometres (154 square miles) to 1,040 square kilometres (401 square miles).

Phillips said helicopters, aircraft, government vessels, fishing boats and privately owned vessels joined the search as rescue efforts intensified.

Authorities said the ferry capsized about seven miles off Guyana’s North Atlantic coast near the Pomeroon River and Iron Punt.

Edghill said there was no indication that the ferry had been overloaded with passengers or cargo and said early information suggested the accident was caused by sea conditions.

“It had to do with the tide,” he said, referring to accounts from rescued passengers.

The government has launched an investigation involving the police, defence force and maritime administration.

“Let me be absolutely clear. Where negligence, misconduct or criminal wrongdoing is established, those responsible will face the full force of the law,” Phillips said.

Edghill later said two crew members tested positive for cannabis. Other government reports said the captain and several crew members also tested positive for marijuana and were taken into police custody. Authorities have not said the positive tests caused the accident.

Survivors described the moments after the ferry overturned while many passengers were asleep.

Wayne Kitson, 18, said he spent about six hours in the water before being rescued. He suffered minor injuries to his arm, leg and neck and told local media he feared his wife and daughter had died.

Another survivor, Leon Murray, said someone shouted that the ferry was sinking about four hours after it left Georgetown.

After the ferry capsized, he reached the surface, stayed afloat using a life jacket and later found his son and three others holding onto a floating box. Murray said his wife, daughter and four grandchildren remain missing.

Officials said the MV Barima was carrying 250 life jackets, two lifeboats and six inflatable life rafts. Phillips said the vessel was licensed to carry more than 300 passengers.

According to VesselFinder, the 40-metre (131-foot) ferry was built in 1939. Authorities said it underwent maintenance in 2024 and was due for dry docking later this year.

References: firstpost, scmp