At least 27 people have died after a passenger ferry, carrying 179 passengers, sank off the coast of Guyana on Saturday night. 69 people aboard the MV Barima have been rescued, while the remaining 83 are still missing, Prime Minister Mark Phillips told reporters on Monday.
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As per a report by The Sun, the captain was reportedly under the influence of marijuana while driving the boat.
This comes after PM Phillips told the BBC that an investigation was underway. "Let me be absolutely clear: where negligence, misconduct or criminal wrongdoing is established, those responsible will face the full force of the law," he said.
Anyone who believes a loved one may have been on board the vessel has been asked to contact the authorities.
Survivor Elena Moonsammy told local news site Kiskadee Watch that the ferry tilted suddenly after being hit by a large wave, and water began pouring in almost instantly. Within seconds, she said, the vessel was taking on water fast. Moonsammy said she survived by grabbing onto a box floating amid the wreckage. She tried to hold onto her two-year-old child's hand but the two were torn apart in the chaos. She also pulled another woman to safety, telling her to cling to the same box.
A distress call came in at 23:01 local time (03:01 GMT Sunday), setting off a large search-and-rescue effort involving government teams and privately owned boats. Small private vessels proved crucial, pulling at least 17 survivors from the water, including at least 15 children. France sent 12 divers, two doctors and a mechanic from neighboring French Guiana to help with the operation, and divers are still searching the site.
Guyana's Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, said three survivors remained hospitalized with minor injuries, while the rest had already been discharged — most with cuts and bruises from hours spent clinging to debris.
Questions are now mounting over how many people were actually on board. The official registry had listed 133 passengers, but Phillips said on Monday he was now "confident" the real number was 179.
"Our focus again is on finding people," said Phillips. "We still have hope."
The disaster has also raised troubling questions about the crew. Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said the ferry's captain and at least one crew member had tested positive for cannabis. "We have zero tolerance for members of the crew drinking or smoking while at work. And for us to have positive tests from the captain... this is serious," he said. The captain and several crew members have since been taken into police custody. At a news conference on Sunday, Edghill also accused those who operated the ferry of trying to "cheat the system."
MV Barima, a 40m-long (131ft) vessel built in 1939, according to VesselFinder, left Georgetown, Guyana's capital, on Saturday afternoon local time, headed for Port Kaituma in the north of the country. It never completed the journey.
