‘Hold on to me’: Two strangers survive together after sharing a life jacket in MV Barima tragedy

For hours, they floated together in the darkness, clinging to a single life jacket and to the hope that daylight would come.

When the MV Barima capsized off the coast of Region Two on Saturday night, Loureen Singh, 48, thought she was going to die.

The businesswoman, who sells clothing in Port Kaituma, had been travelling to the North West District. It was a journey she had made many times before, often spending a month at a time in the mining community before returning home.

But this trip would be different.

Thrown into the sea as the vessel overturned, Loureen found herself struggling to stay afloat in the darkness.

Nearby was Carlita Matabheek, 32, who, despite not knowing how to swim, had managed to grab hold of a life jacket after the vessel capsized.

The two women found each other in the water.

Carlita asked Loureen a simple question.

Could she swim?

“A little,” Loureen replied.

It wasn’t enough to survive alone.

Carlita told her to hold on.

She assured her that if they stayed together, they would make it through the night until rescuers found them.

The women wrapped themselves around the life jacket, drifting for hours in the open sea, encouraging one another not to give up.

Around them was darkness, uncertainty and the vast Atlantic Ocean.

By morning, both women were still alive.

Rescuers eventually pulled them from the water, bringing an end to an ordeal that had begun the night before.

On Sunday afternoon, they sat quietly beside each other, sharing a meal.

The bond forged in the sea was unmistakable.

Nearby sat Carlita’s husband, Adam Matabheek, who had also survived after spending the night adrift.

Just a few feet away, however, was a very different scene.

Adam’s younger brother, Nathaniel Matabheek, sobbed uncontrollably, waiting for any news of his wife, Rachel Welch, and their three young children — Nathaniel Jr., 8, Natalia, 5, and Ezekiel, 3.

The family remains missing as search-and-rescue teams continue combing the waters.

For Loureen and Carlita, survival came through courage, faith and an unexpected act of compassion between two women brought together by tragedy.

For Nathaniel and many other families, the waiting continues.