BREAKING: MV Barima sinks off the coast of Region 2 with 133 persons on board; 53 rescued so far

The MV Barima ferry with 116 passengers and 17 crew members on board sank off the coast of Region 2 in Guyana late on Saturday night during a trip from Guyana's capital of Georgetown to Northwest community of Port Kaituma in Region One. A total of 53 persons have been rescued so far, according to the Government. The Government, in an early morning statement, indicated that the Timehri Air Traffic Control tower received a distress call from the ferry at 11:01 pm on Saturday night, triggering the search and rescue operation. At a press conference this morning, Prime Minister Mark Phillips said the search and rescue operation was initiated moments after that distress signal was received. "The GDF had a helicopter overnight assisting with the search and rescue mission, and we had at least one private aircraft that was instrumental in spotting the area so that we can be able to do a more accurate search and rescue of the people who were on the ferry so far. It is now day clear and we now have additional assets including an OMNI helicopter which has joined the search", the Prime Minister said. The ferry was 8 hours into its 24-hour journey at the time of the tragedy. Prime Minister Phillips said the aim of the search and rescue mission is to rescue everyone who was on board the ferry. The Prime Minister also told reporters that two recovery centres have been established in Regions One and Two. He said it is still too early to release details of the tragedy, adding that the names of those rescued will not be released until they have been fully assessed by health professionals and released from medical care. A number of children were among the passengers on board the ferry. Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, who asked for prayers to be said on this Sunday morning to those who were on the ferry, said stakeholders were engaged early on the tragedy just after the distress call was received. "All of the vessels available to the Coast Guard, all of the vessels available to MARAD, private operators that were operating in the area, operators of vessels from the Essequibo Coast as well as Region 3, were deployed and that has led huge success even in the dark hours, and we expect that to improve in the daylight hours now. We are hopeful that we will be able to account for all that were on board, 116 passengers and 17 crew members. Among those passengers, were a number of children, and I believe that the good people of Guyana, would offer this Sunday morning, their thoughts and prayers that all the men and women who are engaged in this search and rescue operation will be able to have huge success and that while they are conducting that search, they themselves are safe", Edghill said, while warning that it is still too early to be definitive about several issues related to the tragedy. It was also indicated that a resource centre will be established at the Umana Yana in Georgetown to provide information and updates to family members and the media. The MV Barima ferry is one of the old ferries currently traversing the Region One route. The Minister of Works said the ferry was being used for the Port Kaituma trips because of the intricacies involved in getting into the port. The Ministry of Works and other Government agencies have indicated that they will continue to provide updates throughout the day as the search and rescue operations continue.