—as French, Trinidadian and Guyanese dive teams continue complex underwater operation to access the sunken vessel.
THE number of bodies recovered from the MV Barima tragedy has risen to 73 after specialist dive teams recovered the body of one male during Friday morning operations at the wreck site, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has announced.
The President provided the update while meeting with relatives of those still missing at the Operations Centre in Charity, Region Two, where he briefed families on the latest developments in the ongoing search, rescue and recovery effort.
“As I speak to you, the divers have already completed two dives and right now they are going down for a third dive,” President Ali said.
Starting at 5 AM, the divers completed two dives for the morning, with each dive between 45 and 60 minutes.
President Ali explained that divers are making steady progress in gaining access to the interior of the sunken vessel by cutting through sections of the wreck.
“They are making progress on cutting things open, clearing, and as a result, we have been able to recover one more body so far, a male,” he told the families.
According to the President, the operation will continue throughout the day with specialist teams carrying out multiple dives in an effort to recover those still trapped or missing.
The underwater mission is being conducted by French, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyanese divers, working alongside the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard and other local agencies.
He added that the broader search also remains active, with helicopters and boats continuing to comb the coastline, riverbanks and surrounding waters.
As such, President Ali assured grieving families that every available resource continues to be deployed as authorities press ahead with the operation.
The MV Barima sank on the night of Saturday, July 18, 2026, while en route from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, Region One.
A distress call was received at approximately 11:01 p.m., triggering one of the largest maritime search and rescue operations in Guyana’s history, supported by the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, local agencies, private vessels, international partners, and specialist diving teams from France, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago.
Subsequent investigations confirmed that 179 people, including passengers and crew, were aboard the vessel when it capsized.
To date, 76 people have been rescued, while 73 bodies have been recovered and 65 of the recovered victims have now been positively identified by their families.
