A passenger ferry carrying 116 passengers and 17 crew sank off the coast of Guyana in South America on Saturday night. Dozens remain missing as rescue teams scour an expanding search area for survivors in what officials have described as one of the country’s worst maritime disasters. The MV Barima was travelling from the capital, Georgetown, to Port Kaituma, a remote town in the oil-rich Essequibo region near the border with Venezuela, when it capsized in darkness near Iron Punt, according to local officials.
The ferry departed Georgetown at about 3:15pm local time on Saturday, according to Guyana authorities. A distress call was received at 23:01 local time, triggering a search operation involving government teams and privately-owned boats. Sixty-seven people have been rescued so far, including 41 men, 11 women, and 15 children. Dozens remain unaccounted for. The boat’s captain was among those rescued, Prime Minister Mark Phillips told media.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill told reporters that preliminary investigations indicate the vessel was operating within its legal limits. “There was no engine problem or any mechanical problem. It had nothing to do with overload. It had to do with the tide,” he said. The ferry was certified to carry 397 passengers and 284 tonnes of cargo, and its manifest showed 268 tonnes aboard, below the authorised capacity. Phillips confirmed the boat had been within its weight capacity and was licensed to hold more than 300 passengers.
Search area more than doubles as crews race to find survivors
The search and rescue coordination centre expanded the search area from 400 sq km to 1,070 sq km on Sunday, with additional aircraft and vessels deployed alongside local fisherfolk familiar with the waters. The captain, who was among those rescued, returned to the area to assist what Phillips described as a “significantly increased” rescue operation. The response involved the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard and Air Corps, private aircraft, fishing vessels, and civilian volunteers.
Edghill said the MV Barima was fitted with 250 life jackets, two rigid life crafts, and six inflatable life crafts. The vessel was built in 1939 and measured 40m (131ft) long, according to a VesselFinder listing. Assistance centres have been set up for relatives of those rescued and for families of passengers still missing, the prime minister said. Phillips said on Facebook that the names of those onboard will be released once rescue operations and medical checks are complete.
Survivors describe the moment the ferry overturned in darkness
Adam Matabheek, who was travelling with his wife, brother, sister-in-law, and three young nieces and nephews, noticed the vessel leaning several hours before it capsized. “We dismissed it as rough water and went to sleep,” he said. Moments later, the vessel rolled over. “I ended up in the water,” he recalled, saying he managed to grab a lifejacket before drifting through the night.
His wife, Carlita Matabheek, who cannot swim, said she became trapped inside the overturned vessel before a lifejacket fell within her reach. “I started to pray,” she said. After calling repeatedly for her husband in the darkness, she felt someone tugging at her hair. “It was Adam,” she said. The couple and Adam’s younger brother, Nathaniel, spent the night drifting in the sea until rescuers found them after daybreak. “God cleared the skies and saved us,” Carlita said.
Their relief was overshadowed by tragedy. Nathaniel’s wife, Rachel Welch, and their three children, Nathaniel Jr., eight, Natalia, five, and Ezekiel, three, remain among the missing. According to the family, Rachel was thrown from her hammock as the ferry capsized and tried desperately to reach her children before they disappeared into the water.
Another survivor, Loureen Singh, a trader who regularly travels to Port Kaituma to sell clothing, survived by holding on to the same lifejacket as Carlita after telling her she could swim “a little.” Carlita urged her: “Hold on to me.” The two women remained together throughout the night until they were rescued. Authorities say families of all recorded passengers and crew members have been contacted as efforts continue to account for everyone aboard. Edghill told reporters: “We’re hopeful we’ll be able to account for all that were on board.”