Guyana Ferry Tragedy: Death toll rises to 27 as capsized MV Barima located on Seabed

Guyana: Prime Minister Mark Phillips said that the death toll has increased to 27, while 69 individuals have been rescued as of now, including passengers and crew members. He also said that 83 more individuals are still missing, increasing the total number of passengers to 179.

The government has also confirmed that the capsized MV Barima has been located by a fisherman during search operations on Monday. It was found resting at the seabed about nine miles offshore near Devonshire Castle Flats.

According to a statement from the Office of the President, the vessel’s location was identified at around 1:31 pm by fisherman Haresh Singh. Local fisher folk, Exxon Mobil Guyana, VESHI utilizing Sealand Survey’s Gilligan Island- a survey vessel, and the private vessel Gilligan Island also helped in search operations.

Aggressive and coordinated actions by the various stakeholders have led to the positive identification of the location of the MV Barima. The potential location was identified at 13:31 hrs today by fisherman Haresh Singh, who had assisted in rescue efforts yesterday. Support from local fisherfolk, along with the privately owned vessel, Gilligan Island, has been of great assistance in confirming the location of the vessel, read the official statement.

The government said that full recovery operations have started. A team of 15 French divers has joined local teams at the site to assist in the recovery effort.

Full recovery mode is being pursued. The French Government has provided support in the form of 15 divers, who have since joined the local team of divers at the site. Bodies recovered will be taken to Charity for processing by health and police authorities. Relatives will be invited to identify the bodies at the Suddie Hospital, further stated the press release.

Rescue operations started at daybreak on Monday with 13 units deployed to the area. At approximately 9:26 am, the pilot vessel sighted debris floating on the water, and soon after, the Guyana Defence Force Ship Shahoud discovered a large amount of debris in the vicinity of the Devonshire Castle Flats, located 2.5 nautical miles away from the area.

The search units found the body of a woman off the coast of Moruca at around 10:35 am. A joint team of Guyana DefenceForce-Coast Guard and MARAD recovered more bodies by 1:49 pm, bringing the death toll to 10 at the start of the search operations.

MV Barima capsized on Saturday while traveling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, triggering a large-scale search and rescue effort by the Guyana Defence Force, Coast Guard, helicopters, private vessels, oil industry support ships, and local fishermen.

Authorities also began a criminal investigation into the incident. Police arrested the ferry captain and first engineer after they tested positive for narcotics.

Recovery efforts will remain active until all passengers from the vessel are accounted for, while authorities continue working to determine the cause of the tragedy.