Christopher Boodram, the lone survivor of the Paria Fuel diving tragedy that claimed the lives of his four colleagues, is now asking Paria Fuel Trading Ltd to pay for his medical expenses, but with a medical team of his choosing.
The request was made via a legal letter sent to Paria’s chief executive officer yesterday through the Freedom Law Chambers owned by former attorney general Anand Ramlogan. In the letter, attorney Che Dindial stated that they represent the interests of Boodram and Vanessa Kussie, the widow of Rishi Nagassar, one of the four divers who died in the February 25 incident.
Dindial also made two other requests for Paria to pay for an international independent expert to probe the incident and to disclose under the Freedom of Information Act documents and other articles relating to the tragedy.
Stating that Boodram shared an extremely close brotherly bond with his deceased colleagues, Dindial said Boodram and Nagassar continue to be dismayed, shocked and disappointed over Paria’s conduct throughout the terrifying ordeal and in the aftermath.
Describing the incident as the “worst industrial accident” in the nation in 40 years, he said it has attracted regional and international attention. The letter noted that concerned family members camped out at a bus shed outside Paria while they anxiously awaited news about the fate of their loved ones.
“There was extremely limited communication via a WhatsApp group, which could be reasonably described as insensitive and inconsiderate. The fact that Paria confined the families to a bus shed outside the compound shows that it was content to ignore their grief and relegate them to the periphery without any concern for their pain and suffering. The families had to resort to social media to vent their frustration.
“Paria’s press releases were aloof and underscored the detachment from the families. Whilst Paria’s Board of Directors and Executive Management pontificated like armchair critics, comfortably ensconced in their air-conditioned board rooms with refreshments, food and drink, the families were marginalised and left in the sweltering heat, without so much as a chubby or bottle of water, far less toilet facilities,” Dindial wrote.
Dindial said as the national outrage over Paria’s inaction intensified, Paria appeared to have dug its heels even deeper “into the quicksand of procrastination whilst it engaged in analysis paralysis.”
“Precious time was lost with no clear plan and sadly, even though Mr Boodram was rescued a mere three hours after the incident, Paria blocked further rescue attempts. The families learned about Paria’s decision when they saw a press release in the media and when the frustrated rescue divers protested on social media. The original press release from Paria claimed that OSHA supported Paria’s decision to abort any rescue mission, however, OSHA publicly denied giving its support to such a deadly decision. We have no doubt, in light of our instructions, that this decision led to the untimely and avoidable death of the remaining divers, including our client’s common-law husband, who were alive in air pockets inside the pipeline awaiting help.”
Subsequent to the divers’ deaths, he said Paria has amazingly continued to operate in the same high-handed manner despite mounting public criticism and unanimous condemnation of the company’s callous treatment of the bereaved families. He said there has been no support provided to the families that are reeling in shock and literally living the worst possible nightmare.
Also addressing leaked video footage “to selected media houses and social media journalists’ from a camera that was allegedly sent into the pipeline by Paria, Dindial said it was “a callous, wicked and malicious attempt to justify its irrational decision to prevent the rescue divers from saving the remaining four divers, whom we now know were very much alive in air pockets, beating the inside of the pipe, hoping to be rescued.”
Nagassar, Yusuf Henry, Kazim Ali and Fyzal Kurban were conducting maintenance works on a 30-inch diameter subsea pipeline at Berth No 6, Pointe-a-Pierre, on February 25, when they were sucked into the pipeline. Boodram was saved. The bodies of Kurban, Henry and Ali were recovered on February 28 while Nagassar’s body was retrieved on March 3.
