GEORGETOWN, Guyana: At least 27 people died after a ferry capsized off the coast of Guyana, Prime Minister Mark Phillips said Monday, as the small South American nation mourned the tragedy.
Sixty-nine people aboard the MV Barima have been rescued since the vessel flipped over on Saturday night, Phillips told reporters, adding that 83 more remained missing.
“Our focus again is on finding people,” he said, having raised the death toll from a previous 10. “We still have hope.”
The aging ferry was traveling from the capital Georgetown to Guyana’s inland Essequibo region when it overturned.
Phillips said he was now “confident” that 179 people were aboard, following uncertainty about the numbers involved in the disaster.
