The MV Barima’s captain and first engineer have been arrested by Guyana police after both tested positive for narcotics.

Tragedy struck on Saturday night when the vessel, carrying an estimated 179 people on board, including 18 crew members, capsized while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, a small village in the Barima-Waini Administrative Region.

The passenger and cargo ferry capsized approximately seven miles offshore near the mouth of the Pomeroon River while en route to the North West District.