A 66-year-old Venezuelan diver died on Wednesday evening during an operation at the site where the MV Barima sank, but police only reported the incident to the press four days later.
Dead is Luis Martinez, who, according to the Guyana Police Force, became unresponsive while undertaking diving operations in the Essequibo River on October 28, 2026.
Kiskadee Watch understands that Martinez was working at the site of the sunken MV Barima in connection with efforts to recover the vessel, which went down on July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma.
However, the police statement did not identify the MV Barima, referring only to an operation to refloat “another vessel”. It also did not identify Martinez’s employer or the company conducting the diving operation.
According to police, the incident occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m., about 10 nautical miles off the coast of Anna Regina.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Martinez departed the Kingston Wharf in Georgetown at approximately 5:14 p.m. aboard a vessel with several other crew members, heading to the location for the refloating operation.
Upon arrival, he reportedly entered the water to carry out diving work. After approximately 20 minutes, however, he had not resurfaced, causing concern among those aboard.
Crew members subsequently used a rope attached to his body to pull him from the water. Police said he was motionless and frothing at the mouth.
Martinez was transported to the Transport and Harbours Department Wharf at Stabroek, Georgetown, where ambulance personnel were summoned. A doctor pronounced him dead at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 29.
Police said no marks of violence were observed on the exposed parts of his body. His remains were taken to Memorial Gardens Funeral Home to await a post-mortem examination.
The statement offered no explanation for the four-day delay in informing the press. It also did not specify what emergency assistance was available at the diving site or what occurred between Martinez being retrieved from the water and his arrival in Georgetown.
His death comes amid efforts to recover the MV Barima, which has remained submerged for more than three months following the disaster.
BK International was awarded a $1.034 billion contract on October 6 to salvage the wreck off Devonshire Castle Flats, Essequibo Coast, under a “no cure, no pay” arrangement. As previously reported by Kiskadee Watch, the published award record did not specify a mobilisation or recovery deadline, the approved salvage method or detailed contract conditions. The police statement did not establish whether Martinez was employed by BK International or a subcontractor.
Relatives of those who died or remain missing have repeatedly demanded that the vessel be raised, saying it could contain both crucial evidence and the remains of loved ones. Public evidentiary hearings before the Commission of Inquiry into the sinking began on October 14.
Police said investigations into Martinez’s death are ongoing.
Seventy-three persons died in the sinking of MV Barima and another 30 are unaccounted for.
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