Dozens missing after passenger ferry sinks off coast of Guyana | Guyana

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

A massive search-and-rescue operation is underway for dozens of missing passengers in what authorities describe as one of the country’s worst maritime disasters.

The ferry MV Barima departed from Georgetown, the capital of the English-speaking South American country, at around 3.15pm on Saturday for Port Kaituma, in the oil-rich Essequibo region and just outside the Venezuelan border.

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

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said preliminary investigations showed the ship was operating within its legal limits.

“There was no engine or any mechanical problem. It had nothing to do with overload. It had to do with the tide,” Edghill told local reporters.

He said MV Barima is certified to carry 397 passengers and 284 tonnes of cargo. The manifest showed that it was carrying 268 tonnes of cargo, below its permitted capacity.

Edghill said the ship had 250 life jackets, two lifeboats and six inflatable rafts.

Guyana’s prime minister, Mark Phillips, said on Sunday that the search and rescue coordination center had increased the search area from 400 km2 (154 square miles) to 1,070 km2, with additional aircraft and ships deployed alongside local fishermen who know the waters.

Of the 67 survivors, 41 are men, 11 women and 15 children.

While rescue efforts continued, survivors described the moments when the ferry overturned in the dark.

Adam Matabheek, who was traveling with his wife, brother, sister-in-law and three young nephews, said he noticed the ship was tilting several hours before it capsized.

“We chalked it up to rough water and went to sleep,” he said.

After a while, the ship rolled over. “I ended up falling into the water,” he recalled, saying he managed to grab his life jacket before drifting through the night.

His wife, Carlita Matabheek, who could not swim, said he was trapped inside the overturned ship before his life jacket fell next to him. “I started praying,” he said.

After searching for her husband many times in the dark, she felt someone pulling her hair. “It was Adam,” he said.

The couple and Adam’s younger brother Nathaniel spent the night adrift at sea until rescuers found them after sunrise.

“God cleansed the heavens and saved us,” Carlita said.

But their relief was overshadowed by tragedy.

Nathaniel’s wife, Rachel Welch, and their three children – Nathaniel Jr. (8), Natalia (5) and Ezekiel (3) were among the missing. According to the family, when the ferry capsized, Rachel was thrown from her hammock and desperately tried to reach her children before disappearing into the water.

Another survivor, Loureen Singh, a trader who regularly traveled to Kaituma Port to sell clothes, survived by wearing the same life jacket as Carlita after telling her she could swim “a little”.

Carlita encouraged him: “Hold on to me.”

The two women stayed together throughout the night until they were rescued.

Families of all registered passengers and crew members have been contacted as efforts continue to hold everyone on board accountable, officials said.