MV BARIMA TRAGEDY: 53 Rescued as Emergency Search & Rescue heeds results 

July 19, 2026

The National Emergency Response and Coordination Operations have been yielding major successes in bringing home the passengers and crew of the MV Barima, which capsized with 116 passengers plus its crew while en route to Port Kaituma on July 18, 2026.

A total of 53 people have so far been accounted for by search and rescue teams. Of that number, 8 people were initially rescued, followed by the additional 45 as the rescue operations continued.

Both state and private assets from Regions 2 and 3 have been deployed as part of the National Response efforts, which are being headed by Prime Minister Mark Phillips with support from several state agencies.

On July 18, 2026, the Timehri Towers received a distress call from the MV Barima at approximately 11:01 PM, and immediately, the response mechanisms were kicked in. The vessel had earlier departed for Port Kaituma at 3:15 PM on the said date.

The MV was fitted with 250 life jackets, 2 rigid liferafts, and 6 inflatable rafts, which made up the safety gear onboard the vessel. To be clear, the vessel had more life jackets than the number of passengers and crew who were on board the vessel at the time of distress.

Minister Edghill also indicated that among the approaching rescue teams was a medical unit which was onboard one of the vessels, and this was primarily to provide immediate medical attention to those rescued.