Guyana appoints experts tasked with investigating ferry capsizing that killed dozens

Guyana’s government has appointed a group of international experts to investigate the recent sinking of a state ferry that killed dozens of passengers in the country’s worst maritime disaster on recordByBERT WILKINSON Associated PressGEORGETOWN, Guyana -- GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana’s government on Sunday appointed a group of international experts to investigate the recent sinking of a state ferry that killed dozens of passengers in the country’s worst maritime disaster on record.The 87-year-old MV Barima capsized in Atlantic waters on June 18 after it departed the capital, Georgetown, en route to Port Kaituma, an Indigenous community near Venezuela.Authorities have said they believe 179 passengers were aboard, but divers so far have found only 73 bodies, with another 76 people rescued. International teams are still trying to recover the vessel so experts can inspect it.President Irfaan Ali said in a state address Sunday that the investigative team has been given widespread powers and is expected to operate independently.Belize’s former attorney general, Phillip Godfrey Smith, was appointed chairman of the five-person team tasked with the investigation, including whether profe...