Death toll from Guyana ferry disaster rises to 53

The death toll from a ferry disaster in Guyana has risen to 53, according to officials. At least 77 people have been rescued.

Guyana’s Prime Minister Mark Phillips announced the updated toll on Tuesday. Of the 53 people confirmed dead, 26 have been identified. Children are among the victims.

The ferry was carrying 179 people when it capsized on Saturday night, even though its manifest listed only 116 passengers and 17 crew members. The latest figures leave 49 people unaccounted for.

The ferry was traveling from the capital, Georgetown, to Port Kaituma in Guyana’s inland Essequibo region when it overturned.

Sixteen vessels are searching the wreckage area with assistance from France, Trinidad and Tobago, and neighboring Brazil.

Police arrested the captain and first engineer after both tested positive for marijuana. The cause of the disaster remains under investigation. The vessel was built in 1939.

Guyana, an English-speaking country on the northern coast of South America, has declared three days of national mourning. The ferry disaster is one of the deadliest in the country’s history.