Dozens of people are feared to have died after a ferry carrying 133 people capsized off the coast of Guyana on Saturday night. Authorities are investigating whether an inaccurate passenger list and drug use by crew members contributed to the disaster.

Rescue efforts continued into Sunday evening, but no additional survivors had been found since it was announced that 67 people, including 15 children, had been brought to safety earlier. 

Guyana’s Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said the vessel's captain and other crew members had been taken into police custody while investigations continued.

"Search and rescue is still in progress," Edghill told a press conference. "To the families that are out there wondering about their loved ones, we are doing everything that is humanly possible to find them."

The MV Barima, carrying 116 passengers and 17 crew, capsized around 11 kilometres off Guyana's North Atlantic coast while travelling from the capital, Georgetown, to the remote village of Port Kaituma.

Air traffic control received a distress call shortly before 23:00 local time on Saturday, prompting a large search and rescue operation.

Barriers to rescue efforts

Officials said initial efforts were hindered by darkness and a lack of specialist equipment. Oil and gas companies have since deployed vessels to help, while government divers have been sent to search inside the submerged ferry. The search area has also been expanded from 400 to 1,040 sqare kilometres.

Mr Edghill said crew members, including the captain, had tested positive for marijuana. He also revealed that several people rescued from the water were not listed on the vessel's passenger manifest.

The ferry underwent maintenance in 2024 and had been scheduled for further inspection later this year, officials said.

Panic on board

Among the survivors was passenger Leon Murray, who told local media that panic broke out about four hours into the journey after someone shouted that the vessel was sinking. He said he managed to reach the surface and stay afloat using a life jacket before finding his son and three others clinging to a floating box.

While he and his son survived, Murray said his wife, daughter and four grandchildren remain missing.

Guyanese Prime Minister Mark Phillips said the ferry had reported carrying 268 tonnes of cargo out of a capacity of 284 tonnes, and it was licenced to carry more than 300 passengers and equipped with life jackets and life rafts. 

He also confirmed that an investigation had been launched into possible wrongdoing involving police, defence and maritime officials, warning that anyone found responsible for negligence or criminal misconduct would "face the full force of the law".

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