Ferry capsizes off Guyana, 66 missing

Wayne Kitson, an 18-year-old who was among those rescued, said the tragedy struck while the passengers were asleep Saturday night.

Kitson told the Kiskadee Watch, a Guyana news outlet, that he fears his wife and their daughter died in the capsizing. Kitson suffered minor injuries to his arm, leg and neck, and said he spent six hours in the water until he was rescued.

The rescue operations continued Sunday as privately owned vessels joined government teams in looking for survivors.

The ship was equipped with 250 life jackets, two lifeboats and six inflatable rafts, Edghill said. It was carrying 116 passengers and a crew of 17.

The ship began its journey in mid-afternoon and a distress call was received about eight hours later, Edghill said. The ferry was built in 1939, according to the shipping website VesselFinder.

Its destination, Essequibo, measuring 160,000 square kilometers (61,800 square miles), is an area rich in oil and at the heart of a territorial dispute with Venezuela.