As the public hearings into the MV Barima tragedy continued today, the Commission of Inquiry (COI) was informed that the Guyana Defence Force’s Bell 407 helicopter, which was the second aircraft to be dispatched from Ogle following reports of the tragedy, was unable to fly to the disaster site.

However, three other aircraft including one from Omni Helicopters Guyana Inc and another from the Regional Security System (RSS) were brought in during the early stages to assist with the search and rescue operations.

Lieutenant Colonel Anson Weeks, a serving member in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Air Corps, told the Commission that just after midnight on Sunday, July 19, 2026 he was contacted by the Commanding Officer of the GDF Air Corps, Lieutenant Joslyn Assanah informing him of reports of the distress information regarding the vessel.

He said at 1:45am, Lieutenant Colonel Weeks together with Captain Andio Crawford and a drone team departed Ogle in the Bel 407 Helicopter for Hampton Court on the Essequibo Coast, arriving at 02:15hrs. It was noted that the coordinates for the vessel in distress were received after the crew had departed Ogle.

At Hampton Court, Lieutenant Colonel Weeks dropped off the drone team and was then instructed to conduct an aerial reconnaissance of the coastline to search for survivors.

It was explained that the aircraft was prohibited from flying offshore and therefore could not fly to the “target site.”

“No, I could not. The Bell 407 is essentially a single engine helicopter, and civil aviation regulations would have prohibited me from flying first at night and then there is a prohibition of single engine operating offshore as well,” Lieutenant Colonel Weeks explained.

He said he flew the Bell 407 from Hampton Court to the Pomeroon River and back as part of his aerial reconnaissance but there was no sighting of any survivor at the time.

“Nothing fruitful came out of the reconnaissance in the sense that we were not able to see anything on the ground of substance even with the aircraft search light installed,” he testified.

It was noted that during this period, a GDF highlander aircraft was also being prepped to assist with search and rescue at the disaster site.

However, by sunrise, Lieutenant Colonel Weeks, while still at Hampton Court, was instructed to coordinate a search and rescue operation with the privately owned, OMNI Helicopter.

However, while two rounds of searches were conducted, no survivor had been seen.

Later that day, Lieutenant Colonel Weeks was instructed to travel back to Ogle, and it was there that he was instructed by his Colonel General Staff to coordinate a further search effort, this time with the Regional Security System using assets based in Barbados.

The RSS aircraft arrived on the evening of July 19, 2026 and conducted a search of the area before returning to Barbados. No survivor was seen.

Between July 20^th and August 2, Lieutenant Colonel Weeks conducted coastal surveillance off the Essequibo Coast in about 10 flights. During that period the remains of one individual was spotted and recovered.

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