Disasters & Incidents
Guyana ferry disaster leaves at least 27 dead and 83 missing, prime minister says
At least 27 people have died after the MV Barima ferry capsized off the coast of Guyana, Prime Minister Mark Phillips said Monday.
Phillips said 69 people had been rescued since the vessel overturned on Saturday night, while 83 people remained missing. He said the death toll had risen from an earlier figure of 10.
“Our focus again is on finding people,” Phillips said. “We still have hope.”
The ferry was traveling from the capital, Georgetown, to Guyana’s inland Essequibo region when it overturned. Phillips said he was now confident that 179 people were aboard, after earlier uncertainty about the total number involved.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had earlier said the ship’s passenger manifest, which listed 133 people, was not accurate.
Authorities expanded the search area on Monday from 400 square kilometers to 1,070 square kilometers. Local fishermen joined the recovery effort. The presidency said the French army sent 12 divers, two doctors and a mechanic from nearby French Guiana to help the search-and-rescue operation.
Phillips said Sunday that two crewmembers on the aging ferry tested positive for marijuana after the incident, and that an investigation was underway. Edghill earlier said the ferry had started its journey in mid-afternoon and that a distress call was received about eight hours later.
The shipping website VesselFinder lists the ferry as having been built in 1939.
Boats on the route typically travel by sea before reaching a river to arrive at Port Kaituma, which is in dense rainforest. Guyana is a small English-speaking country in northeastern South America and is in a territorial dispute with Venezuela over the oil-rich Essequibo region.
Update
Prime Minister Mark Phillips said he was now confident that 179 people were aboard the MV Barima.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said the passenger manifest listing 133 people was inaccurate.
Authorities expanded the search area from 400 to 1,070 square kilometers.
Local fishermen joined recovery efforts.
The French army sent 12 divers, two doctors and a mechanic from French Guiana to help the search-and-rescue operation, according to the presidency.
Phillips said two crewmembers tested positive for marijuana after the incident and that an investigation was underway.
Edghill said the ferry began its journey in mid-afternoon and a distress call was received about eight hours later.
The shipping website VesselFinder lists the ferry as having been built in 1939.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 23:25:24 UTC.
Update
Prime Minister Mark Phillips said 69 people had been rescued so far.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 22:48:26 UTC.
Update
The prime minister said 27 people were dead.
The prime minister said 83 people were missing.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 22:40:24 UTC.
Update
Officials said the confirmed death toll had risen to 10, from a previous figure of two.
A report said eight bodies had been recovered by 12:35 pm, or 1635 GMT, bringing the total recovered since the incident to 10.
Authorities expanded the search area from 400 to 1,070 square kilometres, or from 154 to 413 square miles.
Local fishermen were joining recovery efforts.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said the passenger manifest listing 133 people was not a true reflection of reality.
Prime Minister Mark Phillips said two crew members tested positive for marijuana after the incident and that an investigation was under way.
Phillips asked relatives to tell authorities about missing people to help determine how many were unaccounted for.
Edghill earlier said a distress call was received about eight hours after the ferry began its journey in mid-afternoon.
The source said the ferry was built in 1939, citing the shipping website VesselFinder.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 18:46:33 UTC.
Update
Officials said 67 people, including 15 children, had been rescued so far.
Authorities said two bodies, one male and one female, had been recovered, while others not rescued were being listed as missing.
Phillips said an investigation had been launched and that two crew members tested positive for cannabis.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said preliminary findings indicated the ferry flipped after being hit by a large wave.
The captain and mate, who were rescued, returned to the area to help the search and rescue operation.
A rescued 18-year-old passenger told a local news outlet he spent six hours in the water and feared his wife and daughter had died.
The ferry was said to have had 250 life jackets, two lifeboats and six inflatable rafts.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 04:51:35 UTC.
Update
Authorities had said 116 passengers and 17 crew members were on board.
The source says 67 people had been rescued thus far.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill asked members of the public and family members to contact authorities because the manifest did not reflect the actual occupants.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 01:55:40 UTC.
Update
A minister said the ship manifest was not a true reflection of passengers on the capsized Guyana ferry.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 01:40:35 UTC.
Update
Officials said the MV Barima had 116 passengers and 17 crew members aboard.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said initial signs indicated the ferry overturned after being hit by a large wave.
Prime Minister Mark Phillips said the rescued people included 41 men, 11 women, six boys and nine girls.
Phillips said the captain and mate were among those rescued and had returned to help the search operation.
Wayne Kitson, an 18-year-old survivor, said passengers were asleep when the ferry capsized and that he spent six hours in the water before rescue.
Edghill said a distress call was received about eight hours after the ferry began its journey.
The ferry was built in 1939, according to VesselFinder.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 July 2026 at 22:48:39 UTC.
Update
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said initial signs indicated the ferry flipped after being hit by a big wave.
Edghill said 67 rescued people included 15 children.
Authorities are listing the other 66 people as missing rather than dead.
Survivor Wayne Kitson said the capsize happened while passengers were asleep and that he spent six hours in the water before rescue.
Kitson said he feared his wife and daughter died in the capsizing and had minor injuries to his arm, leg and neck.
Privately owned vessels joined government rescue teams.
Edghill said the ferry had 250 life jackets, two lifeboats and six inflatable rafts.
Edghill said the distress call was received about eight hours after the ferry began its journey.
The source cites VesselFinder as saying the ferry was built in 1939.
The source adds context about Essequibo's oil wealth and territorial dispute with Venezuela.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 July 2026 at 17:20:39 UTC.
Update
Officials said 67 people, including 15 children, had been rescued.
The ferry was carrying 133 people: 116 passengers and 17 crew members.
Rescue teams were searching for the remaining people, leaving 66 people missing based on the reported total aboard and rescued figure.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said initial signs suggested the ferry capsized after being hit by a big wave.
Edghill said the ferry carried 250 life jackets and that a distress call was received about eight hours after departure.
The ferry MV Barima was built in 1939, according to the shipping website Vesselfinder.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 July 2026 at 16:20:16 UTC.
Update
Prime Minister Mark Phillips said the 53 rescued were a combination of passengers and crew.
Phillips said daylight had arrived and he expected the number rescued to rise.
The source states that the ferry was carrying 116 passengers and crew combined.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 July 2026 at 10:14:16 UTC.
Update
Guyana's prime minister told AFP that at least 53 people had been rescued from the capsized ferry.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 July 2026 at 09:58:01 UTC.
Update
Government minister Juan Edghill was named as the source of the information.
The MV Barima was carrying 116 passengers in addition to crew.
The ferry was bound for the port of Kaituna.
A distress call was received at about 11:01 p.m., or 0301 GMT Sunday.
Edghill said eight people had been rescued alive after emergency operations began.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 July 2026 at 09:12:04 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The cause of the capsizing has not been established in the supplied source.
The exact number of people aboard had been uncertain, and officials said the manifest was inaccurate.
The 83 missing people had not been accounted for at the time of the source report.
Source
AFP news report published on .