It became Becoming internationally known when , on November 18 , 1978 , a total of 918 people died Death in the settlement , at the nearby airstrip in Port Kaituma , and at a Temple-run building in Georgetown , Guyana 's capital city .

The poisonings in Jonestown followed Action the murder of five others by Temple members at Port Kaituma , including United States Congressman Leo Ryan , an act that Jones ordered .