– questions delay in rescue after seeing aircraft overhead
Survivor Donald Modeste has recounted how fears over the condition of the MV Barima followed him onto the vessel’s final voyage, saying he had repeatedly heard that the ferry had holes and was taking in water before he boarded on July 18 when the catastrophe started.
Modeste said he had doubts about traveling on the boat that day but eventually boarded because his belongings were already packed on it. He was sharing his experience last Friday at the launch of HERO (Humanitarian Emergency Relief Operation) at the Houston residence of Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed.
Modeste alleged that the Ministry of Public Works was aware that the boat had holes and was taking in water. This is one of the allegations that is expected to be considered in the Commission of Inquiry that was set up to investigate the disaster.
The man related that he was at the back of the vessel with Neil Cort and another friend Reynoldo, with the men talking before Cort – who ran the canteen and is still missing along with his brother Kenrick – got up to check on the pot. “Cort got up and went to stir the pot,” he recalled.
It was around that time that water began reaching his boots, but Cort told him that that was a normal occurrence. Concerned about getting his feet wet, he decided to move upstairs the boat and then settled into his hammock. As he fiddled with his phone and charger, he recalled the chilling details of what he saw next.
Describing the actions with his hands, he said he noticed the boat started to tilt. So he stood up from his hammock immediately and kept looking to see if it would tilt back. It was at this point that he started hearing noise from other passengers.
The MV Barima capsized off Guyana’s coast on July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, Region One, resulting in dozens of deaths. While scores of passengers were rescued, a number of people remain unaccounted for.
Modeste survived by holding on to gas and oil bottles. He recalled seeing aircraft in the area after the vessel capsized, saying he saw one fly over at about 1 am. and another at approximately 1:30 am. He charged that had rescuers arrive 30 minutes before they did, they could have saved more people.
He and other survivors were eventually rescued at about 5:30 a.m. the following day. He said he was left questioning the length of time it took for assistance to arrive, particularly because the journey from where survivors were picked up to the Coast Guard appeared relatively short, as if just about 30 to 45 minutes.
Cort brothers still missing
Modeste’s account of what happened placed Neil Cort among the people he was with during the vessel’s final hours.Incidentally, Cort’s wife and daughter were in attendance to hear Modeste speak about his final hours.
Neil Cort, 57, and his younger brother Kenrick Cort, 53, operated the vessel’s canteen, with Neil having a decades-long connection to the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD).
According to information provided by Neil’s family, he spent about 37 years with T&HD. Before operating the MV Barima’s canteen, he worked at the Georgetown ferry, including selling tickets, and later worked in Region One.
Family members have described Neil as a hardworking and generous man who frequently provided food to passengers, including people who could not afford to pay. His wife has said he would supplement the canteen’s offerings by bringing items such as eggs, bread, vegetables and chicken to sell during trips.
Their daughter and niece, Jasmin Cort, has been among the relatives publicly demanding that the vessel be salvaged so that the remains of those still missing can be recovered and families can obtain closure. Relatives of the brothers have also protested outside the Office of the President over delays in raising the vessel.
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