At least 53 saved after Guyana ferry MV Barima overturns overnight

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AFP) — Guyana's Prime Minister Mark Phillips told AFP on Sunday that rescue teams have recovered at least 53 people after a passenger ferry flipped overnight along the country's coast. The vessel had more than 100 people aboard.

Speaking by telephone, Phillips said: "(In) a combination of passengers and crew, the number rescued is 53 and it is daylight now so we expect the number to go up."

Government minister Juan Edghill, in a Facebook video, said the craft was bound from Georgetown for Port Kaituma. "At about 3:15 pm this afternoon (1915 GMT), the MV Barima departed with 116 passengers plus crew for port Kaituna," he said. "A distress call was received… at approximately 11:01 pm (0301 GMT Sunday)."

Edghill added that medical teams were moving toward the scene to treat survivors brought ashore by Guyana's coast guard and by private vessels. "There is an active search and rescue operation that is taking place, and we pray for the safety of all," he said.

Port Kaituma lies inland within the Essequibo region. The ferry route runs along the sea before continuing upriver to the port. Essequibo covers 160,000 square kilometers (61,800 square miles), holds major oil reserves, and sits at the centre of a long-running border claim between Guyana and Venezuela.