A ferry with 116 passengers and crew members on board capsized off the coast of Guyana on Sunday, according to authorities, with 53 people rescued as search and rescue teams continued their efforts.
The vessel, identified as the MV Barima, was traveling along the North Atlantic coast from the capital, Georgetown, heading to Port Kaituma, according to Guyanese Prime Minister Mark Phillips.
A distress call came in at 11:01 p.m. local time — 3:01 GMT — triggering a rescue operation that brought in both government and privately owned boats, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill announced via Facebook.
The boat went down in waters near the Pomeroon River, authorities confirmed.
It remains unclear how many people, if any, may have died in the incident. Guyanese officials, however, expressed hope that additional survivors would be located.
According to Edghill, the MV Barima was equipped with 250 life jackets, two rigid life rafts, and six inflatable life rafts at the time of the capsizing.
Prime Minister Phillips is personally overseeing the government’s response to the disaster.
