A distress call by the MV Barima to the coast guard was made just after 11pm local time. The vessel is said to be equipped with 250 life jackets, two rigid life boats and six inflatable life crafts.

The MV Barima ferry has capsized off Guyana's coast with eight people so far retrieved alive, the country's public works minister has said

Guyana's Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill noted that eight people have been rescued from the vessel so far