Sawt Falasteen - Ferry capsizes off Guyana coast, 67 rescued as search continues

The ferry MV Barima left the small English-speaking country at the northeast corner of South America Saturday afternoon with at least 133 people aboard for a trip from the capital Georgetown to Port Kaituma.

Port Kaituma is inland in the oil-rich Essequibo region, and the ferry travels along the coast in the Atlantic before heading upriver to reach its jungle destination.

Guyanese Public Works Minister Juan Edghill told a press conference Sunday that a ship manifest listing 133 people on board was not "a true reflection of the occupants on board," asking family members and loved ones to reach out to officials to create an official tally of those missing.

Preliminary findings found that the ship flipped over after being hit by a big wave, Edghill said earlier on Facebook.

"Search and Rescue Advancing. 67 persons, inclusive of 15 children rescued so far," he said.

The rescued victims include 41 men, 11 women, six boys and nine girls, Prime Minister Mark Phillips said in a statement Sunday.

"The families of those rescued, as well as the relatives of all recorded passengers and crew members, have been engaged," the statement said, adding that "the captain and mate of the vessel, who were among those rescued, have returned to the area to assist with the search and rescue operation."

Phillips later said an investigation into the incident had been launched, adding that two crew members were found to have tested positive for cannabis.

- 'They are doing everything' -

"To the families that are out there who are wondering about their loved one, they are doing everything that is humanly possible to find them," Edghill said at the press conference Sunday.

Authorities are listing those who haven't been rescued as missing, rather than dead, though two bodies -- a male and a female -- have been recovered from the scene, according to authorities.

Wayne Kitson, an 18-year-old who was among those rescued, told a local Guyana news outlet that passengers were asleep when the boat capsized.

Kitson told the Kiskadee Watch that he fears his wife and their daughter died in the capsizing.

Kitson suffered minor injuries to his arm, leg and neck, and said he spent six hours in the water until he was rescued.

The rescue operations continued late Sunday as privately owned vessels joined government teams in looking for survivors.

The ship was equipped with 250 life jackets, two lifeboats and six inflatable rafts, Edghill said.

The ship began its journey in mid-afternoon and a distress call was received about eight hours later, Edghill said.

The ferry was built in 1939, according to the shipping website VesselFinder.

Its destination, Essequibo, measuring 160,000 square kilometers (61,800 square miles), is an area rich in oil and at the heart of a territorial dispute with Venezuela.

Y.AlMasri--SF-PST