A FERRY carrying 133 passengers and crew has capsized in Guyana with 67 people rescued so far, according to the authorities, as a massive search and rescue operation tried to find the dozens still missing.

The MV Barima was sailing from the capital Georgetown along the North Atlantic coast to Port Kaituma,

Guyanese Prime Minister Mark Phillips, who is leading the government’s response, said on Sunday.

He said the group that had been rescued included 41 men, 11 women and 15 children. 

Helicopters, planes and fishing vessels are scanning a 1,000-square-mile area in the search.

A distress call was received from the ferry shortly before midnight on Sunday, sparking a search-and-rescue operation involving state and private boats, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said on Facebook.

The authorities said the vessel, which makes weekly trips to the largely indigenous communities near the Venezuelan border, had capsized near the Pomeroon river.

Mr Edghill said the vessel had been fitted with 250 life jackets, two rigid life rafts and six inflatable life rafts.

He denied claims that it could have capsized because it was overloaded with passengers or cargo.

“It had to do with the tide,” the minister said, referencing statements from rescued passengers.