MV Barima capsizes in Guyana, dozens rescued in ongoing search

Rescue crews had pulled 53 people from the water after the MV Barima capsized on the Georgetown-Port Kaituma run off Pomeroon, with 116 passengers aboard as the search continued. The ferry overturned in Guyana’s Atlantic coastal waters, where river and sea crossings are a lifeline for communities that depend on them.

Early reports put the number rescued at eight before the tally climbed as Guyana Defence Force and Coast Guard teams pushed the search farther out from the capsized vessel. The Ministry of Public Works was updating the response as rescue crews worked the area between Georgetown and Port Kaituma, trying to reach anyone still missing in rough, time-sensitive conditions.

The emergency carried added weight because a fire had been reported onboard the MV Barima at the Port Kaituma waterfront in Region One before the capsizing. That earlier fire, along with the capsize itself, put the vessel’s condition and the safety controls on one of Guyana’s most important passenger routes under immediate scrutiny.

The MV Barima’s passenger load made the scale of the disaster more severe for rescuers and for families waiting for answers along the northwest coast. With 116 people on board and the search still active, every hour mattered for crews combing the waters off Pomeroon and the shoreline around Port Kaituma. No confirmed death toll had been released in the latest updates, and the effort remained centered on finding the remaining passengers and bringing them ashore safely.