As Opposition Members continue with their call for the removal of the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, and Public Utilities Minister Minister Deodat Indar, over the ferry tragedy, Prime Minister Mark Phillips informed the House on Monday that one of the persons who was rescued following the sinking of MV Barima, has since died.

“Mr. Speaker, a total of 77 persons were rescued, and one of the persons rescued subsequently died,” the Prime Minister said.

As the Prime Minister presented the update to the National Assembly, Opposition members became louder in their calls for justice.

He told the House that the Search and Recovery Operation remains active.

Initially, the Government had reported that the vessel had a total of 133 persons on board, but that figure increased after it was confirmed that several survivors and those who perished were not listed on the official passenger manifest for the vessel.

The Government has revised the number to 179.

The Prime Minister told the Assembly that persons are still missing.

Noting that the tragedy has caused immeasurable grief across the country, the Prime Minister said the Government remains committed to providing support to everyone affected.

“The Government of Guyana is committed to providing tangible support to survivors and the families of the victims and has since established a register of survivors through the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, survivors support list, and a register of deceased and their families, again through the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security – family support list for MV Barima victims,” he said.

The Government has established a five member MV Barima Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to establish the circumstances under which the ferry capsized and sank. According to the Prime Minister, inquiry will unveil the truth.

“Through this inquiry, through this Independent Commission of Inquiry, the truth must be established failures, wrongdoing and acts of negligence must be identified and persons must be held accountable for their action. Mr. Speaker, we have already established that my passengers who were on the boat was not listed on the manifest. Through an analysis done utilizing the CCTV camera at the goods wharf, we have established that 179 passengers and crew were on the vessel, where as the manifest only listed a 133 passenger and crew,” the Prime Minister said.

The Commission is being led by former Attorney General of Belize, Godfrey Phillip Smith. The other members of the Commission are Senior Maritime Surveyor, Captain Hamada Founda of Jamaica, Retired Chief of Defence Staff of Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, Rear Admiral, Hayden Pritchard, Maritime Law specialist, and Attorney Dawn Alfonso of Trinidad and Tobago, and Dr Andrzej Jasionowski of Poland, who practices forensic naval architecture and marine engineering.

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