Latest update July 24th, 2026 12:30 AM
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Berbice families’ hopes end in grief… One waited for a phone call, another searched through bodies
(Kaieteur News) – The last time Mark Abrams spoke to his wife, she reminded him to eat before the MV Barima entered rough waters. He promised to call again when he reached Port Kaituma.
That call never came.
Dead: Mark Abrams
For Paul Seepersaud’s sister, the heartbreaking ordeal ended only after hours of searching through bodies recovered from the sea, identifying her brother by two tattoos after many victims had become almost unrecognisable.
Dead: Chief engineer, Paul Seepersaud
On Wednesday, the two Berbice men were officially confirmed among those killed in Saturday evening’s MV Barima disaster, bringing fresh heartbreak to families already devastated by the tragedy.
The bodies of Paul Seepersaud, 44, of Vryman’s Erven, New Amsterdam, and Mark Abrams, 42, of No. 53 Village, Corentyne, were identified by relatives, who confirmed the deaths to Kaieteur News.
Abrams’ wife, Bibi Abrams, said their son travelled to Moruca, Region One, on Wednesday, where he positively identified his father’s body at a mortuary after four days of intensive search efforts.
Recalling their final conversation, she said her husband, who regularly travelled to Port Kaituma to sell goods, telephoned shortly before the vessel departed.
“Saturday morning, 3:30, he left to join the Port Kaituma boat. He normally does carry up things to sell up there. Saturday afternoon he called me on a private call and tell me that the boat leaving now. I tell him to eat his food before the boat go into the rough water. He said when he reach to Kaituma, he gon’ call me back.”
Instead, early Sunday morning, a neighbour arrived at her home carrying news she never imagined she would hear.
“About 5:30 Sunday morning, a neighbour come by and show me a Facebook post asking if this was the boat my husband travelled on.”
She said several news reports published after the tragedy did not initially include her husband’s name on the passenger manifest, even though he was a frequent traveller on the route.
Abrams was the sole provider for his family.
“I know him for ten years, and before that, he was always travelling on the boat to sell. He is the only person that does maintain the family, and now he is not here. I don’t know how I gon’ make out.”
Meanwhile, Seepersaud’s sister, Paula, described the painful process of identifying her brother after inspecting body after body.
Because many of the victims had remained in the water for an extended period, she said, several were almost beyond recognition. She eventually recognised her brother by a tribal tattoo and another tattoo of a boat anchor.
She also spoke of the exhausting wait to have his body released.
“Guess when I got my brother’s body? Nine o’clock last night, from four o’clock yesterday morning.”
Seepersaud’s body has since been transported to a funeral home in Fort Wellington. He was serving as the MV Barima’s chief engineer when the vessel capsized.
The parents of Devon Mars, 46, of Sandvoort Village, West Bank Berbice was hoping he would return home.
Dead: Devon Mars
Mars, a father of three, travelled twice each month aboard the vessel to deliver and sell meat. His father confirmed that his name appears on the passenger manifest, but the family has heard nothing since Saturday.
His mother remains unwavering.
“I refuse to believe otherwise.”
By press time Wednesday, the family confirmed his death.
The family of Raymond Somra, 56, of Islington Village, East Bank Berbice, is also desperate for answers.
Missing: Raymond Somra
A veteran seaman with more than four decades of experience, Somra remains missing. His relatives said no official from the transport and harbours department has contacted them since the tragedy.
“Right now, we want to know why nobody from the transport and harbours department didn’t come around to let us know what is going on. We would like to know from them,” his sister said.
His 77-year-old mother, Rebecca Somra, recalled the last words her son spoke before leaving home.
“When he call me, he said, ‘Mammy, ah gon’. I said, ‘Alright, go safe, and beg God to carry you safe.’ When he leave, he does always tell me when he reach. This time, a stranger call me and tell me the boat capsized.”
Up to press time, the confirmed death toll from the MV Barima tragedy stood at 65, while dozens remain missing.
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