Dozens of people are feared dead after a passenger boat capsized off the coast of Guyana

Dozens of people are feared dead after a boat carrying about 133 people capsized off the coast of Guyana on Saturday, with authorities suggesting that an incorrect passenger list and drug use by the crew may have contributed to the situation.

No survivors have been found since Sunday afternoon, when Guyanese authorities announced that they had rescued 67 people, including 15 children.

The captain and other members of the team are now in police custody, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said at a press conference on Sunday.

“The search and rescue is still ongoing,” said Edghill. “So for the families out there who are wondering about their loved ones, we are doing everything we can to find them.”

The MV Barima, which had 116 passengers and 17 crew, capsized on the north Atlantic coast, about 11 kilometers from the coast, while traveling from the capital Georgetown to the village of Port Kaituma, authorities said.

A distress call

Air traffic control received a distress call from the boat around 11pm on Saturday, prompting a search and rescue operation.

Edghill said early responses were hampered by darkness and a lack of ships with scanners that could search for survivors, leaving rescuers to rely on sight and sound.

Companies in the oil and gas sector have since installed ships with scanners and the government has allowed divers to go on board to look for bodies, said Edghill. Authorities also expanded the search area to 1,040 square kilometers, from 400 square kilometers.

Edghill initially insisted on Sunday afternoon that there was no sign of “negligence” on the part of the ferry operator. But on Sunday evening, he said the captain and at least one other member tested positive for marijuana.

In addition, a number of rescued people were not listed on the boat’s manifest, indicating errors in the boat’s passenger list and hampering rescue operations because authorities do not know how many people they are looking for.

The boat was repaired in 2024 and was due to be drydocked – a process of taking a vessel out of the water temporarily to inspect and fix problems – later this year, the minister said.

The tragedy has torn families apart.

Leon Murray, who was on board the boat, told local newspaper Ignite News that about four hours after leaving Georgetown, someone shouted that the boat was sinking.

After the boat overturned, Murray was able to swim to the surface where he used a life jacket to stay afloat. He drifted away and shouted for help and found his son and three others clinging to the floating box.

Murray said he and his son survived, but his wife, daughter and four grandchildren have not been found. “Six are gone.”

Guyanese Prime Minister Mark Phillips said in a statement that the ship reported a weight of 268 tons out of a capacity of 284 tons. He said the boat was licensed to carry more than 300 passengers, and was equipped with 250 life jackets, inflatable life rafts and two rigid rafts.

But on Sunday evening, in a press conference, Phillips said that an investigation into the wrongdoing has been launched involving members of the police force, the defense force and the maritime administration department.

“Let me be absolutely clear: when negligence, misconduct or criminal wrongdoing is established, those responsible will face the law.”