Families in Guyana demand answers as anger grows after 100 drown in ferry accident

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana’s government is under pressure to explain why a state-run ferry sank over the weekend, killing an estimated 100 people, with officials telling an increasingly frustrated population to await the conclusion of an official investigation.

Authorities said that 76 of the 179 passengers believed to have been aboard the ferry survived the South American nation’s worst maritime disaster on record. As of Wednesday, 65 bodies had been recovered as divers searched for nearly 40 more with help from naval assets from Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago.

Dozens of Guyanese continued to gather in the northern town of Charity, hoping that the bodies of their missing loved ones would be found.

“I know my baby is in that boat,” said Samantha Ramin, who lost two of her three children.

Crews recovered the body of her young daughter, but her baby boy is still missing.

“I know he is down there. I know he is down there,” she said. “I want to see them find my baby.”

The 87-year-old ferry, MV Barima, had set sail on Saturday from the capital, Georgetown, to Port Kaituma when it began taking on water and capsized in Atlantic waters off the Essequibo coast. Though the ship’s manifest listed 116 passengers and 17 crew, authorities believe as many as 179 people were aboard.

A growing number of Guyanese are questioning why it took so long to rescue people, with some survivors telling The Associated Press that they spent hours in the water.

As the search continues, survivors also have complained that the vessel was overloaded with people and cargo, including heavy-duty engines, a few vehicles, large fuel containers, all-terrain vehicles and commercial cargo.

A survivor identified as Leon Murray told reporters that he felt the ferry was overloaded compared with the dozens of other times he traveled on it.

“The people load, load, load the steamer,” he said. “It was packed, packed, packed all downstairs.”

Murray and other survivors have told reporters that the ferry encountered engine problems just hours after its departure but that crews fixed it en route instead of turning back. He also accused crew members of ignoring suggestions that the ferry was taking on water: “They told us this is normal.”

Government officials have said that the ferry was under capacity in passengers and cargo but stressed that there are too many differing accounts of what transpired to reach a definitive conclusion.

Maritime Agency Director Stephen Thomas told the AP that officials are awaiting a comprehensive investigation that would determine details including the loading of the vessel and the role of supervisory personnel before reaching conclusions.

“We have nothing to hide,” Prime Minister Mark Phillips told reporters late Tuesday. “People will be held responsible based on the outcome, the results and the recommendations of that commission.”

He added: “Where negligence, misconduct or criminal wrongdoing is established, those responsible will face the full force of the law. There will be no exceptions and no tolerance for actions that place innocent lives at risk.”

Police already have detained the rescued captain and at least one other crew member whom they say tested positive for marijuana.

Asked why an 87-year-old ferry was still in service, the government said it was waiting on the completion of a special pier at Port Kaituma to accommodate a new $12.7 million vessel acquired from India in recent months to replace the MV Barima. Work is at an advanced stage.

The MV Barima was last dry docked in 2024 for major repairs and was scheduled for additional work in October.

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Drake reported from Charity, Guyana.