In the evening of February 4th, at the Water Street Cummingsburg Wharf in Georgetown, Guyana, a personnel casualty incident occurred on a dredging barge that was berthed in port.

2月4日傍晚，圭亚那乔治敦卡明斯堡水街码头，一艘正在港内停靠的疏浚作业驳船发生人员伤亡事件。

Around 18:30 that day, during a routine inspection on the vessel, several crew members successively collapsed and lost consciousness in a lower compartment of the engine room.

当日18时30分左右，多名船员在船上进行例行检查时，先后在机舱下部空间倒地失去反应。

The barge belongs to the local port authority and is routinely used for dredging operations in Guyana's waterways. It was not underway at the time of the incident and was in a berthed state.

该驳船隶属于当地港务机构，长期用于圭亚那水道疏浚工程，事发时并未航行，船舶处于靠泊状态。

According to a police statement, at the time of the incident, several crew members entered a dry space located in the lower part of the hull for inspection. This space is not a continuous work area and is normally kept closed. During the inspection, the individuals were suspected to have been exposed to a toxic gas environment, causing them to collapse.

根据警方通报，事发当时，几名船员进入位于船体下部的一个干燥空间进行检查。该空间并非持续作业区，平时处于封闭状态。检查过程中，人员疑似暴露于某种有毒气体环境中，随即倒地。

Other personnel on board raised the alarm upon discovering the abnormality. Emergency medical technicians and the fire department rushed to the scene, transported the collapsed individuals, and sent them to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for treatment. Ultimately, all four were pronounced dead.

船上其他人员发现异常后立即报警。急救人员及消防部门赶赴现场，将倒地人员转移并送往乔治城公共医院公司抢救，但最终，4人被确认死亡。

The deceased include an 18-year-old sailor, a 57-year-old captain, a 33-year-old sailor, and a 25-year-old engineer, showing significant variation in age and role.

遇难人员包括一名18岁的水手、一名57岁的船长、一名33岁的水手，以及一名25岁的工程师，年龄和岗位差异较大。

The bodies have been transferred to the hospital mortuary, awaiting autopsy results. Police stated that the investigation is ongoing, and the specific gas composition and cause of the accident have not yet been released.

目前，遗体已被转移至医院太平间，等待尸检结果。警方表示，调查仍在进行中，具体气体成分及事故成因尚未公布。

Investigation Initiation and Progress

调查启动与进展

Following the accident, local police quickly formed a joint investigation team with maritime, safety supervision, and fire departments to fully launch the accident investigation process. The investigation focuses on four core dimensions:

事故发生后，当地警方迅速联合海事、安监、消防等多部门成立联合调查组，全面启动事故调查程序。调查重点聚焦四大核心维度：

Verification of Space Use and Daily Management Status: Focus on clarifying the design function, actual usage scenarios, and daily closed management measures of the enclosed space, including opening frequency, maintenance records, and the setting of safety signs;

空间用途与日常管理状态核查：重点查明该封闭空间的设计功能、实际使用场景及日常封闭管理措施，包括开启频率、维护记录及安全标识设置情况；

Ventilation system effectiveness assessment: A special inspection was conducted on the ventilation conditions of the engine room and lower spaces during berthing, focusing on the operating status of ventilation equipment, air exchange efficiency, and the existence of ventilation dead zones;

通风系统有效性评估：针对船舶靠泊期间机舱及下部空间通风条件展开专项检测，重点排查通风设备运行状态、空气交换效率及是否存在通风死角；

Work process and personnel behavior traceability: Reconstruct the specific operation process, personnel entry sequence and time nodes of the inspection operation in detail, and analyze whether there are any missing operation procedures or inadequate emergency measures;

作业流程与人员行为溯源：详细还原检查作业的具体操作流程、人员进入顺序及时间节点，分析是否存在操作规范缺失或应急措施不到位情况；

Environmental risk substance screening: Using professional testing methods to confirm whether there are toxic gases, oxygen-deficient environments or chemical residues in the space, and to trace their source and accumulation process.

环境风险物质筛查：通过专业检测手段确认空间内是否存在有毒气体、缺氧环境或化学残留物质，并追溯其产生根源及累积过程。

As of now, no official conclusions regarding liability have been released, nor has it been disclosed whether any violations or loopholes in safety management systems were discovered during the investigation. The investigation team stated that it will strictly adhere to the principles of science, objectivity, and rigor in advancing the investigation, and will release the final investigation results to the public in accordance with laws and regulations once all test data and evidence chains are complete.

截至目前，官方尚未公布任何责任认定结论，也未披露调查过程中是否发现违规操作或安全管理制度漏洞。调查组表示，将严格遵循科学、客观、严谨的原则推进调查工作，待所有检测数据及证据链完善后，将依法依规向社会公布最终调查结果。

Risks in the Cabin

船舱------同样有风险

Based on the information disclosed so far, this accident did not occur under extreme working conditions. The vessel was not underway, not operational, and weather conditions were not mentioned. The crucial point is concentrated in one location:

从已披露的信息看，这起事故并非发生在极端工况下。船舶未航行、未作业，天气条件也未被提及。关键点集中在一个位置：

An enclosed space in the lower part of the hull.

船体下部的封闭空间。

On dredging vessels or engineering barges, these spaces typically share several common characteristics: they are long-term enclosed, ventilation depends on external conditions, and they are not areas of continuous human activity. During berthing, these spaces are often not frequently opened, and changes in their internal environment are not easily detected in a timely manner.

在疏浚类船舶或工程驳船上，这类空间通常具备几个共同特征：长期封闭、通风依赖外部条件、并非持续有人活动区域。在停靠期间，这些空间往往不会被频繁开启，其内部环境变化也不容易被即时察觉。

More notably, the risks associated with such spaces do not necessarily manifest as "obvious abnormalities." Colorless and odorless gases, slowly decreasing oxygen levels, or a combination of factors can all create a fatal environment within a short period.

更值得注意的是，这类空间的风险并不一定表现为"明显异常"。气体无色无味、氧含量缓慢下降、或多种因素叠加，都可能在短时间内形成致命环境。

Judging from the personnel involved, those who entered the space were not all from the same position; there were both experienced captains and young sailors. This means that the accident was not due to the judgment of any one person, but rather more like a concentrated release of risk from the environment at a particular moment.从人员情况来看，进入该空间的并非同一岗位人员，既有经验丰富的船长，也有年轻水手。这意味着，事故并不取决于某一个人的判断，而更像是环境本身在某一刻集中释放风险。

Furthermore, in a berthed state, the vessel is not completely static . Factors, such as, the fuel system, residual gases in the engine room, substances left behind from maintenance or dredging operations, may change under closed conditions. Once those entering lack real-time awareness of the internal environment, the reaction time left for them is often extremely short.

此外，靠泊状态下，船舶并非完全"静止系统"。燃油系统、机舱残余气体、维修或疏浚作业留下的物质，都可能在封闭条件下发生变化。一旦进入者缺乏对内部环境的实时感知，留给人的反应时间往往极短。

The investigation is ongoing.

目前，调查仍在继续。