'When I looked at my baby, I knew I had to keep holding on' – MV Barima survivor recalls fight to stay alive

What this source establishes

The fullest single-survivor narrative in this corpus, following Alicia Atkinson of Sebai Village, Region One, now of Kairuni, whose 3-year-old daughter Alicia was swept from her hand while she saved her 10-month-old son Triston. It records nearly eight hours in the water with the baby placed atop a floating roll of vinyl while she stayed submerged. No other source in this corpus records that an unnamed man handed her the vinyl float before disappearing beneath the waves, or her belief that he drowned saving others.

Figures cited in this source

One named child victim (Alicia, 3); one named survivor and her 10-month-old son

Key claims

• Survivor Alicia Atkinson, a young single mother from Sebai Village, Region One, now residing in Kairuni, lost her three-year-old daughter Alicia and saved her 10-month-old son Triston.
• Atkinson said both children were asleep when panic erupted at approximately 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 18, 2026.
• Atkinson said she grabbed both children and plunged into the water: 'I had both of them. But the sea took my little girl away from my hand.'
• An unknown man handed Atkinson a floating roll of vinyl before disappearing beneath the waves; she believes he later drowned trying to save others.
• Atkinson placed baby Triston on top of the float while she remained submerged, for nearly eight hours.
• Atkinson said: 'There were moments when I felt like giving up… but every time I looked at my baby, I knew I had to keep holding on.'
• The daughter's body was recovered from the Atlantic, identified by relatives and taken to a funeral home in Linden.
• Government MP Alister S. Charlie attended a wake at Kairuni along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway where he met Atkinson.

Quotations

• “I had both of them. But the sea took my little girl away from my hand.”— Alicia Atkinson, survivor
• “There were moments when I felt like giving up... but every time I looked at my baby, I knew I had to keep holding on.”— Alicia Atkinson, survivor
• “The water was rough. The waves kept coming. My feet were getting weak because they were under the water for so long.”— Alicia Atkinson, survivor
• “It is something I will never forget.”— Alicia Atkinson, survivor

This page is a research summary prepared for comment and review. It is not the article. Copyright in the original remains with INews Guyana; the full text is held only in the private research corpus from which this archive was compiled. Follow the link above to read it at the source.