Bodies recovered after passenger ferry carrying over 100 people sinks off Guyana

Guyana's government confirmed Monday that 27 bodies have been recovered from the MV Barima, a passenger ferry that capsized late Saturday with 179 people on board. The vessel was traveling from the capital, Georgetown, to the village of Port Kaituma when it overturned approximately seven miles offshore. Authorities initially reported 133 people on board but later revised the figure to 179 after reviewing boarding footage. Public Works Minister Juan Edghill stated that search and rescue efforts are ongoing, with divers being deployed to search the ferry and the search area expanded to over 1,000 square kilometers.

Compounding the tragedy, officials are investigating potential contributing factors including an inaccurate passenger list and drug use by the crew. While Edghill initially suggested no "neglect" by the ferry operator, he later confirmed that the captain and at least one other crew member tested positive for marijuana. The discovery that many rescued individuals were not on the official manifest has significantly hampered rescue operations, as authorities struggle to determine the exact number of people to search for.

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Search and rescue is still in progress. So to the families that are out there wondering about their loved ones, we are doing everything that is humanly possible to find them.

The disaster has caused immense distress to families awaiting news. Leon Murray, a passenger who survived by swimming to a life jacket, recounted hearing shouts that the boat was sinking about four hours after departure. He managed to find his son and three others clinging to a floating box after capsizing. The MV Barima had undergone maintenance in 2024 and was scheduled for dry docking later this year.

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About four hours after leaving Georgetown, someone shouted that the boat was sinking.