GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jul 24, CMC – Divers have returned to the site of the sunken MV Barima on Friday hoping to retrieve bodies as the death toll has risen to 72, President Irfaan Ali has said.
Ali, speaking with relatives of those persons still unaccounted for following last weekend’s incident when the 87-year-old vessel capsized after being hit by a wave, as it made its way from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, a small village within the Barima-Waini administrative region of the country, said that attempts are being made to move the wreck.
“It has some challenges for us. For the divers going down all the time, we have a number of divers who got sick. So a number of divers had to come back in,” he said, adding that he is hoping for more improvement.
“In the event that we don’t get the type of movement that we want with the boat, the divers are able to do the number one, to go back …to try to go into the vessel and try to release as much as they can release.”
He said that by mid-morning Friday if there is not the “type of result we want…the only other option after that, which we don’t want to get to, we’re trying to avoid as far as possible, with family members., is to try for a full salvage of the vessel.
“That has a challenge of disrupting whatever is there. But we are hopeful that we don’t get to that,” Ali said, adding “if we get to that, all of us together will have to make a decision as to the best option.
“Are we together on that? Are we together? That is something that none of us want to get to. But I have to be open that this is where we are now,” Ali said, adding that because of the movement that had been achieved on Thursday “they are hopeful that if there are any of our loved ones or anything that is stuck, that it might be able to spring into the surface”.
He said the Coast Guard has created a network to try to retrieve bodies
“The divers are going back for a clean dive to the vessel, attempting to get in,” Ali said of the exercise that will be taking place all day.
“We move as much as possible because a path has been created,” he said, adding to start receiving information from mid-morning.
The Association of Caribbean Mediaworkers (ACM) has extended “its deepest condolences to our colleagues in Guyana and to the families, friends, and communities affected by the tragic ferry disaster.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of so many lives in this heartbreaking tragedy. At this difficult time, our thoughts are with all those who are mourning loved ones, the survivors, and everyone impacted by this devastating event,” ACM said, without indicating whether any media worker had been onboard the ill-fated vessel.
“We stand in solidarity with the people of Guyana and with our fellow media professionals who continue to report on this tragedy with courage and compassion while sharing in the grief of their nation.
“May the memories of those who lost their lives be a source of strength and inspiration to those they leave behind. We hope for comfort, healing, and resilience for all affected as Guyana comes together in mourning and recovery,” the regional media organisation said.
The official manifest had 116 passengers and a 17 member crew, but the authorities said that as many as 179 passengers and crew may have been on board the vessel.
Meanwhile, civil society activists say they are contemplating filing a constitutional case against the State after they were arrested Wednesday night as they picketed a government-organised vigil.
Sherlina Nageer, who was among those arrested at the Kingston Seawall, said legal advice was being sought before moving to the High Court and that the activists hope to send a strong message to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) that law enforcement agents could not violate citizens’ constitutional rights in such a manner in the future.
“The fact that they arrested us (and) so even though there were no actual charges and they apologised or offered an apology, what’s to stop them from doing that again in the future to us, to other peaceful picketers?” she told the online publication, Demerara Waves Online News.
Nageer said that if the group goes ahead with its lawsuit, its aim would be to ensure that the police could not arbitrarily arrest persons “or even to take us off of the scene.
“We think this is a timely moment to remind the GPF and those in authority, of Article 147 of the Constitution that guarantees all citizens of Guyana the right of assembly, association and demonstration: “no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his or her freedom of assembly, association and freedom to demonstrate peacefully” Nageer, and the other activists, Salima Bacchus-Hinds, Susan Collymore, Romola Lucas, and Joy Marcus said in a statement
Nageer said hat even though a senior police officer offered an “insincere” apology conditional on ‘if you think you deserve an apology’ it was not palatable to four of the activists.
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