Guyana ferry disaster: Dozens missing after passenger vessel sinks off South America

A massive search and rescue operation is underway off the North Atlantic coast of Guyana after a passenger ferry capsized late Saturday night, leaving dozens of people missing.

The ferry was traveling from Guyana’s capital city, Georgetown, to the northwest village of Port Kaituma when it capsized near Iron Punt and the Pomeroon River.

The vessel, MV Barima, was carrying 116 passengers and 17 crew members when it encountered distress at approximately 11:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, July 18.

As reported 67 people including 15 children and several crew members, have been successfully rescued till Sunday.

Medical teams have been dispatched to the area to treat survivors as they are brought ashore.

The Guyana Coast Guard, Defence Force, and several local private vessels are actively scouring the waters for the remaining passengers who are still unaccounted for.

As reported by Al Jazeera, Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, noted that the ferry was heavily equipped with safety gear before departure, including 250 life jackets, two rigid life rafts, and six inflatable life rafts.

Guyana's Prime Minister, Mark Phillips, stated that search operations will continue until every effort has been made to find survivors

While a formal investigation will officially launch once the rescue phase is over, preliminary reports suggest that the vessel did not strike an object, instead early accounts from survivors indicate that the vessel was hit and overwhelmed by a massive wave.