The Guyana government Sunday night confirmed that the bodies of two people had been found and the search and rescue operations continue for at least 70 other people still missing and feared dead after the ferry MV Barima capsized on Saturday night as it made its way from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, a small village within the Barima-Waini administrative region of the country.
“To the families that are out there who are wondering about their loved ones, we are doing everything that is humanly possible to find them,” Public Works Minister Juan Edghill told a news conference as the government announced that it had launched an investigation into the mishap.
“Since we have this compromised position of the manifest not being a true reflection of the occupants on board, we are kindly asking members of the public, family members, who you are aware had relatives or persons who would have journeyed, please engage us so we’ll be able to have a good grasp of who we are looking for so we’ll be able to know how we are managing the situation,” Edghill told reporters.
“We only have, as of six o’clock, coming out of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, two persons confirmed dead. One that was discovered early in the day and as we were wrapping up, before dark, we had 15 boats deployed to check the near bush, as they call it in common language, the mangroves along the shoreline.”
He said the other person found dead is a woman this evening. “So we only have two persons confirmed dead at this time. The search and rescue operation continues”.
Prime Minister Mark Phillips told the news conference that President Irfaan Ali, who had travelled to Canada last Thursday is returning home on Sunday night and that the search and and rescue efforts have remained continuous from that moment the distress alert was received at around 11.pm (local time) on Saturday night.
But he said “as rescue efforts progress today, authorities discovered that a number of individuals who were rescued were not listed on the vessel’s official manifest.
“Additionally, two rescued crew members tested positive for cannabis during medical examinations conducted by the health care personnel,” he said, adding “and you would agree with me that these are deeply concerning and shocking developments.
“Accordingly, the government has ordered an urgent and comprehensive investigation involving members of the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force, the Maritime Administration Department, and other technical maritime experts will comprise this team,” he said, adding that the “investigation will examine all of the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragedy, including the accuracy of the passenger manifest, the loading of passengers and cargo, the compliance with maritime safety regulations, and the conduct of the captain and crew before and during the voyage.
“Let me be absolutely clear. Where negligence, misconduct, or criminal wrongdoing is established, those responsible will face the full force of the law. There will be no exemptions and no tolerance for actions that place innocent lives at risk,” Phillips said.
He said that the authorities are also releasing the vessel’s manifest, together with the names of those who have been rescued and the names of those who have still been unaccounted for ”and still deemed as missing, based on the information currently available.
“These lists will continue to be updated as verification efforts progress. On behalf of the government of Guyana, I extend our deepest condolences to the families who have suffered unimaginable difficulties and loss, and I assure every affected family that this government, our government, will continue to stand with you throughout this difficult period.
“Search and rescue operations remain ongoing. Every available resource continues to be deployed, and we will spare no effort until every possible avenue has been exhausted,” Prime Minister Phillips added.
Hospital officials said that of the 67 persons rescued so far, 50 had been sent to the Charity Hospital, where they were triaged, and during that process, “we were able to identify at least four persons who need further care”.
They said in addition to the 50 persons, 17 others were brought to the Lima Hospital by some of the small boats that were on the rescue operation and that there had been “a full complement of professional staff that was available throughout the day and we’ll continue once that is necessary tomorrow and the day after and so forth”.
One of those rescued told reporters that he was in a hammock resting when he heard a loud noise and saw water rushing in as the ferry tilted and started to sink. He said it was chaotic as he and others held on to anything that was floating to survive.
Another survivor, Devon Gaskin, in an interview with online publication, News Room, recalled being forced to plunge out of the sinking boat as the rough waters rushed in. He said he was forced to hold on to a floating large gas bottle to survive. The man said while the tragedy took place before midnight on Saturday, the first sight of a rescue team was just after 5 o’ clock on Sunday morning. He said he was fearful of losing his life.
Eve Jerome, who was travelling to Mabaruma in Region One aboard the MV Barima, said while she has survived, her two children, Alliya Gonsalves, 12, and Jerome Jacobs, 3, remain missing.
The woman said that her husband is blind and that the family survives on public assistance and that she was travelling with her children to Region One when tragedy struck at around 9:00 p.m.
According to Jerome, both children were holding onto her hands as the vessel began taking in water, but the strong waves tore them away from her grasp.
“People started raising alarms that water was entering the boat, but the captain kept telling us that everything was normal,” she said, crying ” my babies are gone and left me. I feel they are dead. Divers are searching, and I keep praying for my children. This is the hardest thing I have ever faced”.
Edghill said that the Guyana Coast Guard continues to be the principal partner in the search and rescue operations and ”I’m advised that there are offers from international regional partners to lend assistance during the course of tonight and tomorrow morning to continue with scoping the area.
“As of six o’clock this afternoon, private sector partners were out there scanning the areas because we want to locate the vessel. So all of the available technology for scanning, looking for life, everything is being deployed as well as divers deployed.
“So we want to make it very, very clear. As a government, all day we had one thing on our minds, rescuing people. And I said earlier, we were treating this as if I was out there, what I wanted people to do for me, that is what I was doing for those families and we will continue to do that because life is important.”
But he said he was disappointed and hurt that “despite an official manifest was given to us, persons who were rescued were not manifested, that is a criminal action.
“I see that as criminal. Maybe other people have more decorative words to use, but as the minister responsible and we are taking action in that regard, because life is important and nobody for the want of a few extra dollars can cheat a system or do whatever mischief you want and it has compromised the entire search and rescue operation because we are looking for a 133 people.”
He said the manifest had 116 passengers and17 crew, adding “we don’t really know the real number right now” adding “and then worse yet… we have conducted random testing for alcohol as well as for drugs.
“This is routine because we have a zero tolerance for members of the crew drinking or smoking while at work and for us to have positive tests from the captain. I can understand a sailor, but not a captain. This is serious. People’s lives are at risk and those matters will be dealt with,” Edghill added.
Meanwhile, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in a statement said it “is deeply saddened by the capsizing of the passenger ferry, MV Barima” and that it “continues to closely follow the ongoing search and rescue operation to account for the passengers and crew.
“We extend our prayers and support to the families anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones. CARICOM pays tribute to the courage, dedication and selfless efforts of the rescue teams and all who are responding in the aftermath of the incident, led by relevant arms of the Government of Guyana, and including private vessel operators, who mobilized overnight in challenging conditions to save lives.
“CARICOM stands in solidarity with the Government and people of Guyana, in particular, the families and communities that are being impacted by this unfolding disaster. “
Similar sentiments have come from the European Union and the United States. (CMC)