Rescue operations are still ongoing after a boat carrying 116 people in addition to its crew capsized on Saturday night off the coast of Guyana. THAT M.V. Barima left Georgetown “around 3:15 pm (Saturday) afternoon (…) bound for Port Kaituma” in western Guyana, and “a distress call was received around 11:01 pm,” Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said in a Facebook video.
“Emergency operations were initiated by the mobilization of public and private resources. This operation is currently ongoing,” he continued. “The number of people rescued is 53. It’s daylight now, so we expect that number to increase,” the Guyanese Prime Minister said.
Disputed region
The ship was carrying 250 life jackets and a boat was sent to the scene to provide medical assistance, Juan Edgill said. Kaituma Port is located inland in the Essequibo region and the boat travels through the sea and then up the river to reach Kaituma Port.
Essequibo, a 160,000 km² oil-rich area, has been administered by Guyana for more than a century but is at the center of a dispute with Venezuela, two countries at odds over their shared border.