More than 100 people are feared dead after an 87-year-old state-run ferry sank off Guyana’s Essequibo coast in the South American nation’s worst maritime disaster on record.
Authorities said 76 of the 179 people believed to have been aboard the MV Barima survived after the vessel capsized over the weekend, while 53 bodies had been recovered by Wednesday.
Divers were continuing the search for 50 more people believed to be missing.
The disaster has left Guyana facing its highest maritime death toll as recovery teams work to locate victims trapped in and around the sunken vessel.
Dozens of relatives gathered in the northern town of Charity as the search continued for their missing loved ones.
Samantha Ramin, who lost two of her three children in the disaster, said the body of her young daughter had been recovered but that her baby boy remained missing.
“I know he is down there. I know he is down there,” she said. “I want to see them find my baby.”
The MV Barima departed Georgetown on Saturday bound for Port Kaituma but began taking on water before capsizing in Atlantic waters off the Essequibo coast.
Although the vessel’s manifest listed 116 passengers and 17 crew members, authorities believe as many as 179 people may have been aboard.
The scale of the disaster has raised questions over the vessel’s condition, its passenger and cargo load and the response to the sinking.
Several survivors said they spent hours in the water before being rescued. Some also alleged that the ferry was overloaded with passengers and cargo, including heavy-duty engines, vehicles, large fuel containers, all-terrain vehicles and commercial goods.
The government has denied that the ferry was overloaded, saying it was operating below its authorised capacity for both passengers and cargo.
Officials have also stressed that conflicting accounts of the incident mean that no definitive conclusion can yet be reached.
“We have nothing to hide,” Prime Minister Mark Phillips said. “People will be held responsible based on the outcome, the results and the recommendations of that commission. Where negligence, misconduct or criminal wrongdoing is established, those responsible will face the full force of the law. There will be no exceptions and no tolerance for actions that place innocent lives at risk.”
Police have detained the rescued captain and at least one other crew member, who authorities said tested positive for marijuana.
The age of the ferry has also come under scrutiny. The government said the MV Barima remained in service while work continued on a special pier at Port Kaituma to accommodate a new $12.7 million vessel acquired from India to replace it.
The MV Barima was last dry-docked in 2024 for major repairs and had been scheduled for additional work in October.