Guyana Ferry Capsizes With 179 on Board, 27 Dead and 83 Still Missing
- Authorities in Guyana recovered 27 bodies after the MV Barima capsized while ferrying passengers from Georgetown to Port Kaituma
- The ferry's captain and at least one crew member were taken into custody after testing positive following the disaster
- Officials found that 32 survivors were not listed on the ferry's manifest, raising concerns about how many people were actually on board
Guyana's deadliest marine disaster in decades has left at least 27 people dead, with 83 still unaccounted for, after the MV Barima overturned off the country's northwest coast on Saturday night.
The vessel sent out a distress call while transporting passengers from the capital, Georgetown, to Port Kaituma.
Source: Getty Images
By Monday, authorities had pulled 69 survivors from the water, but dozens remain missing. Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill described the tragedy as the worst of its kind the country had seen in a generation.
Captain arrested after positive drug test
Accoridng to Al Jazeera, police confirmed that the ferry's captain and at least one other crew member were arrested after drug tests returned positive results. Edghill made clear the government's position on the matter, saying:
"We have a zero tolerance for members of the crew drinking or smoking while at work. And for us to have positive tests from the captain, this is serious."
Prime Minister Mark Phillips launched a formal investigation into possible negligence by the crew in the period leading up to the capsizing.
Manifest discrepancies raise alarm
Investigators discovered a significant gap between the official passenger count and the actual number of people aboard. The MV Barima was initially recorded as carrying 116 passengers and 17 crew members, but 32 of those rescued had no record in the ship's manifest, pushing the potential total aboard to 179 and complicating efforts to determine how many people may still be in danger.
Edghill said passengers had been raising concerns for years that staff at state-run ferry terminals were accepting cash for seats without entering names into official records. He called the practice "a criminal action."
President visits survivors
President Irfaan Ali travelled to hospital to meet with those rescued and their families. He described the visits as a painful experience, saying: "It was a deeply emotional experience. I listened to their stories, shared in their pain and anxiety, and assured them that every practical measure would be taken to provide the support and assistance they need."
Search and rescue operations were continuing as authorities worked to locate the 83 still missing.
Source: Getty Images
Oil at the root of Guyana-Venezuela border row
Legit.ng earlier reported that the discovery of vast oil deposits is blamed for reigniting a decades-old territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana that fast worsened as Guyana started granting licenses to multinationals to exploit crude in waters claimed by both countries.
This is what we know about the showdown over the Essequibo region that has the world on edge. The 160,000-square-kilometer (62,000-square-mile) territory has been administered by English-speaking Guyana since an 1899 arbitration award in favor of the then-British colony.
Source: Legit.ng
