The Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning (MOLMP) has dispatched a team of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) officers to the Water Street Wharf in Georgetown following a deadly incident aboard a cargo vessel that left four crew members dead.
In a brief statement, the Ministry said it was “regrettably informed” of the incident and has deployed the team to support investigations into what occurred at the site. MOLMP also advised members of the public to await official updates from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and other relevant agencies.
The Ministry’s intervention comes as police probe the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the four men, who reportedly collapsed after entering a confined space in the engine room of a cargo vessel docked at the Water Street, Cummingsburg wharf.
According to the GPF, the incident occurred at about 18:30h on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, during an inspection in the lower section of the vessel’s engine room.
The deceased were identified as Brandon Deonarine, 18, a seaman of Support, East Bank Demerara; Nerwaine Persaud, 57, a boat captain of Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara; Dominic Alexis, 33, a seaman of De Kendren, West Coast Demerara; and Getindra Sanchara, 25, an engineer of Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara.
Police said preliminary investigations indicate the men were inspecting a “dry space” in the engine room when they were exposed to suspected noxious fumes and collapsed.
An alarm was raised by other crew members, prompting an emergency response involving Emergency Medical Technicians and ranks from the Guyana Fire Service, who assisted in removing the men from the vessel.
They were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where they were pronounced dead by a doctor. Their bodies remain at the hospital’s mortuary pending post-mortem examinations.
