MV Barima Disaster... Brazil, T&T come to Guyana's rescue

What this source establishes

Kaieteur News reports GDF officials conceding that only one of three helicopters was available in the first hours because the other two were grounded awaiting imported spare parts. Edghill defends the absence of life jackets on recovered bodies by saying regulations do not require continuous wear on large ferries absent severe weather, and says floating plastic-wrapped life jackets helped rescuers locate the submerged vessel. The report sets out the salvage plan in technical terms, using maritime salvage airbags to restore buoyancy, and records Phillips committing to a Commission of Inquiry to determine liability and recommend compensation only after recovery concludes.

Figures cited in this source

65 bodies recovered, 44 positively identified, 23 released to families; 76 rescued

Key claims

• Prime Minister Mark Phillips confirmed the death toll had climbed to 65 at a press conference on Wednesday 22 July.
• Five additional bodies were recovered on Wednesday, three of them in the hours immediately preceding the briefing.
• Maritime assets and personnel from the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard and the Brazilian Navy joined the effort; 19 vessels and three aircraft were actively engaged.
• The recovery plan involves repositioning the vessel then installing maritime salvage airbags around the wreckage to restore buoyancy before towing it closer to shore.
• Three people were arrested for 'unlawful protesting' during one of the Kingston Seawall observances.
• GDF officials said the remaining two helicopters in the fleet were grounded for routine maintenance while awaiting imported spare parts, explaining why only one helicopter was deployed initially.
• Edghill said the ferry carried 250 life jackets, six inflatable rafts and two rigid rafts, stored in accessible unlocked overhead racks.
• Edghill said safety regulations do not require passengers on large ferries to wear life jackets continuously unless severe weather or imminent danger arises.
• Edghill said floating, plastic-wrapped life jackets had actually helped rescuers pinpoint the submerged vessel.
• Phillips confirmed the government intends to establish an independent Commission of Inquiry once recovery efforts conclude, to determine liability and recommend compensation.
• Edghill said: 'I am discharging a responsibility that, by oath, I took to fulfill.'

Quotations

• “The current recovery plan involves repositioning the vessel before installing maritime salvage airbags around the wreckage to restore buoyancy”— Mark Phillips, Prime Minister
• “The focus now is not on compensation; it is on recovering bodies and financing funeral rites and burials”— Mark Phillips, Prime Minister
• “I am discharging a responsibility that, by oath, I took to fulfill. And at this time, I am fulfilling that response.”— Juan Edghill, Minister of Public Works

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