Ferry carrying 133 passengers and crew sinks off Guyana coast

Sixty-seven people have so far been rescued after a ferry carrying 116 passengers and 17 crew sunk off the coast of Guyana, local officials have said.

Fifteen children are among those to have been recovered after the MV Barima capsized near Iron Punt on Saturday. Dozens of people are still missing.

A distress call was received at 23:01 local time (03:01 GMT Sunday) triggering a search operation involving state and private boats, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said in a statement.

"We're hopeful we'll be able to account for all that were on board," he told reporters as emergency teams continued their search for survivors on Sunday afternoon.

Both passengers and crew are among those rescued so far, Guyana's Prime Minister Mark Phillips earlier told AFP.

The names of those onboard will be released once rescue operations and medical checks are complete, he said on Facebook. Assistance centres have been set up for relatives of those rescued and passengers still missing.

The MV Barima was travelling from the capital Georgetown to Port Kaituma when it capsized.

Edghill said it was fitted with 250 life jackets, two rigid life crafts and six inflatable life crafts.

It was built in 1939 and is 40m (131ft) long, according to a listing on VesselFinder.