Guyana sets up independent inquiry as MV Barima death toll rises to 53

Guyana: The death toll in the MV Barima tragedy has increased to 53, as more bodies were recovered during the search operation on Tuesday. More than 55 people are still missing while rescue teams continue searching the area.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips said that the government will set up an Independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the events that led to the capsizing of the ferry. He also said that the administration is dedicated to ensure a transparent and fair investigation.

I want to reassure you that we have nothing to hide. I believe and I live for transparency, said PM Phillips.

Search and rescue efforts are still continuing on the sunken vessel, where drivers have located a body trapped inside the wreckage. Authorities said that additional equipment and specialist divers will work on the operation after they were unable to recover the victim during their initial dive due to difficult conditions.

More divers will go down and with more equipment and it is our hope that they will be able to extract the body from the vessel, but as I speak to you, they have been able to identify a body but were unable to retrieve it, but that is not the end of it, efforts will still be made to recover that body, explained Prime Minister Phillips.

The rescue efforts now include support and reinforcement from Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil, as teams have now expanded their search area off the Essequibo coast. According to the officials, there have been no new survivors found in the last two days, as the rescue operations now cover a wider section of the surrounding waters.

The government has also confirmed that the survivor count has increased to 76 after several rescued passengers were not included in the initial count. Search for the missing persons remains ongoing.

Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill also shared that the police have recorded official statements of the ferry’s captain and first engineer, who were detained following a positive drug test on July 20. No further arrests have been made yet.

There was some breakdown in the system. We don’t want to get into discussing that here. We want the inquiry to go and investigate the extent of those breakdowns in systems, noted Minister Edghill.

Authorities have also identified four individuals, a mother and three children, who lost their lives during the tragedy. They were Rachel Wells (mother), Nathaniel Jr. Matabheek, Natalia Matabheek, and Ezekiel Matabheek.

The family was traveling to visit family along with Rachel’s husband, Safraz Matabheek, and other relatives. While he survived the incident, Safraz now mourns the loss of his wife and all three of his children.