Murder charges filed against captain and crew in Guyana ferry disaster killing 70+

Three crew members of the MV Barima face murder charges after the state ferry capsized on July 18, killing more than 70 people. Thirty passengers remain missing.

Captain and two crew members charged with murder over MV Barima capsizing

Guyana police filed murder charges on Tuesday against the captain and two crew members of the state-operated MV Barima, the ferry that capsized in Atlantic waters on July 18 killing more than 70 people, bigrapidsnews.com reports.

The three accused — Captain Kevin Price, 40, chief mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts, 42, and cargo superintendent Delon Granderson, 33 — appeared in court Tuesday morning but were not required to enter pleas. No attorneys were present for any of them. A second hearing has been scheduled for August 3 at a court in the western Essequibo region, near where the wreck now lies.

Authorities believe 179 people were aboard the vessel when it left the capital, Georgetown, bound for the northern town of Port Kaituma near Venezuela. Of those, 77 were rescued, though Prime Minister Mark Phillips told Parliament on Monday that one of those survivors has since died. Thirty passengers remain missing. The disaster is the worst maritime incident on record in the South American nation.

During Phillips' address, opposition lawmakers heckled legislators and pounded desks, demanding the resignation of Works Minister Juan Edghill and Junior Minister Indar Persaud, whom they held responsible for the sinking.

On Sunday, the government announced a five-person commission composed of international legal and marine experts to investigate the sinking of the 87-year-old vessel. The government has said the MV Barima remained in service while work continued on a pier at Port Kaituma to accommodate a new $12.7 million vessel recently acquired from India as a replacement.

Some survivors told reporters the ferry was leaking and overcrowded with passengers and cargo at the time of departure. The commission has been tasked with examining those allegations.

Phillips said it is likely the vessel, which now rests 50 feet (15 meters) underwater, will not be salvaged.

Source: Google News GY — Crime