Ferry with 133 people capsizes off Guyana – 66 still missing

Survivor account

Rescue teams searched for survivors under intense pressure on Sunday. The 18-year-old survivor Wayne Kitson reported to the local news platform Kiskadee Watch that he himself had been swimming in the sea "von 22.00 Uhr bis 4.00 Uhr" before being rescued. He said that at the time of the disaster, all passengers had been asleep. He now fears for the lives of his wife and daughter, Kitson added.

Among the 67 rescued were both passengers and crew members, according to Prime Minister Mark Phillips. Phillips had initially told the AFP news agency that 53 people had been rescued; the figure was later revised upward. Among the survivors are 15 children.

Rescue operation and search

According to the authorities, the ship was equipped with 250 life jackets, two lifeboats and six inflatable life rafts. After the distress call, state and private teams initiated rescue operations. "Die Such- und Rettungsarbeiten kämen voran", Infrastructure Minister Edghill said on Sunday.

At a press conference, Edghill said: "Wir geben die Hoffnung nicht auf, alle Personen an Bord zu finden." At the same time, he pointed out that it was still too early for any definitive statements on the outcome of the disaster. Prime Minister Phillips also expressed the hope that more people could still be recovered alive.

Government response

Guyana is a small English-speaking country in South America with about one million inhabitants. For the country, this is described by officials as a great tragedy. The search for the missing continues.

The investigation into the causes is still in its early stages, according to the minister. Edghill and Phillips appealed for patience and warned against speculation while the rescue operations continued.

The ferry "MV Barima" operated regularly between the coastal capital Georgetown and the hard-to-reach Port Kaituma in the interior, where many residents depend on the ferry service as an important connection.

Outlook

Neighboring states and international aid organizations have been informed of the situation, according to reports from Georgetown. Details of foreign involvement in the rescue operations have not been released so far.

The government announced that, once the search is completed, it would clarify the background of the disaster and review consequences for safety standards in ferry shipping.

In view of the ship's great age and the fact that the disaster occurred at night with passengers asleep, observers are viewing the safety precautions of Guyana's aging ferry fleet with growing concern.