Ferry carrying 116 sinks off Guyana coast; 67 rescued, search continues

A ferry carrying 116 passengers and crew sank ⁠off the coast of Guyana in South America ⁠late Saturday, with 67 ⁠people, ​including 15 children, rescued so far, according to Guyana ⁠authorities.

A massive search-and-rescue operation continues for dozens of missing passengers in what has been described by officials as one of the country’s worst maritime disasters.

The ferry MV Barima left Georgetown, the capital of the English-speaking South American country, on Saturday at about 3.15pm for Port Kaituma, located in the oil-rich Essequibo region and just off the border with Venezuela.

A distress call was received shortly after 11pm, prompting an emergency response involving the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard and Air Corps, private aircraft, fishing vessels and civilian volunteers.

Juan Edghill, the minister of public works, said 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,” Edghill told local reporters.

He said the MV Barima was certified to carry 397 passengers and 284 tonnes of cargo. Its manifest showed it was transporting 268 tonnes of cargo, below its authorised capacity.

The ship was equipped with 250 lifejackets, two lifeboats and six inflatable rafts, Edghill said.

In a statement on Sunday, Guyana’s prime minister, Mark Phillips, said the search and rescue coordination centre had expanded the search area from 400 sq km (154 sq miles) to 1,070 sq km, with additional aircraft and vessels deployed alongside local fisherfolk familiar with the waters.

The 67 survivors include 41 men, 11 women and 15 children.

As the rescue effort continues, survivors recounted the moments when the ferry overturned in darkness.

Adam Matabheek, who was travelling with his wife, brother, sister-in-law and three young nieces and nephews, said he 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, however, was overshadowed by tragedy.

Nathaniel’s wife, Rachel Welch, and their three children – Nathaniel Jr., 8, Natalia, 5, and Ezekiel, 3 – 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.