BK Group blames pre-existing conditions for diver’s death
November 2 2026
The BK Group of Companies has come forward to claim that 66-year-old Venezuelan diver Luis Martinez suffered a fatal heart attack linked to pre-existing medical conditions during the ongoing recovery effort for the sunken MV Barima in the Essequibo River.
In a public release signed by Executive Chairman Brian Tiwarie, the contractor disclosed that an on-site resident doctor confirmed Martinez experienced a sudden cardiac event while submerged. Martinez was attached to “Salvamentos del Caribe C.A.”, a subcontractor brought in for the specialized diving portion of the refloating project.
The company indicated it has made contact with the victim’s family and is assisting in transporting his body back to Venezuela. BK Group also maintained that its salvage operations strictly adhere to international safety standards and personnel protocols.
However, the tragedy was kept quiet by official state channels for four days, with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) only issuing a public statement on Sunday after details of the fatality leaked on social media.
Police reports state that the incident occurred around 18:30 hrs. on Wednesday, October 28, approximately 10 nautical miles off Anna Regina. Martinez had traveled out from the Kingston Wharf in Georgetown earlier that afternoon. After diving for roughly 20 minutes, he failed to surface, prompting crew members to haul him back to the vessel using a line, where he was discovered unresponsive and frothing at the mouth.
Rather than making emergency landfall at nearby medical facilities along the Essequibo Coast, the vessel journeyed all the way back to the capital. Martinez was met by an ambulance team at the Transport and Harbours Department Wharf at Stabroek and officially pronounced dead at 02:30 hrs. Thursday morning. Investigators noted no external signs of trauma, and an autopsy is expected.
BK International holds a $1-billion-plus government contract to salvage the MV Barima, which went down on July 18, taking over 100 lives, with more than 30 bodies still unrecovered.
