GEORGETOWN, GUYANA: At least 53 people have been rescued after a ferry carrying more than one hundred people capsized overnight off the coast of Guyana, Prime Minister Mark Phillips told AFP on Sunday.

"(In) a combination of passengers and crew, the number rescued is 53 and it is daylight now so we expect the number to go up," Phillips said by phone.

The ferry was traveling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, government minister Juan Edghill said in a video posted on his Facebook page.

"At about 3:15 pm this afternoon (1915 GMT), the MV Barima departed with 116 passengers plus crew for port Kaituna," he said.

"A distress call was received... at approximately 11:01 pm (0301 GMT Sunday)."

Edghill said medical services were headed to the area to care for those rescued by Guyana's coast guard and by private boats.

"There is an active search and rescue operation that is taking place, and we pray for the safety of all," he said.

Port Kaituma is inland in the Essequibo region, and the ferry travels by sea before heading upriver to reach its destination.

Essequibo, measuring 160,000 square kilometers (61,800 square miles), is an area rich in oil and at the heart of a territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.

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At least 53 people rescued from capsized ferry off Guyana coast