By Belize Live News Staff: From Belmopan to Georgetown, Belize’s message is one of prayer and hope. The Government of Belize has issued a statement of solidarity with Guyana, as the Caribbean nation endures an agonizing search for the dozens still missing after a ferry capsized off its coast.
The Government’s statement confirms the scale of the disaster. Late on Saturday, July 18, 2026, a ferry departed Georgetown carrying one hundred and sixteen passengers and seventeen crew members, one hundred and thirty-three souls in all, before capsizing in rough waves. Sixty-seven people have been rescued so far, and a massive search-and-rescue effort presses on for those who remain missing.
On behalf of the people of Belize, Prime Minister John Briceño and the Government extended prayers of hope for the safe rescue of those still unaccounted for, and offered comfort to the families enduring the hardest wait of their lives.
“The thoughts of the people of Belize are with the people of Guyana as they grapple with this tragedy,” the statement concluded.
The Prime Minister’s message joins the earlier statement from Opposition Leader Tracy Taegar-Panton, a rare and fitting moment of unity in Belizean public life, with government and opposition speaking as one on behalf of a grieving Caribbean neighbour.
Guyana is family to Belize, bound through CARICOM, through shared history, and through the Guyanese community that calls the Jewel home. As rescue boats continue to comb the waters where the ferry went down, Belize watches, prays, and hopes alongside them.
To the people of Guyana: Belize stands with you.
