Senior Reporter
jensen.lavende@guardian.co.tt
The lone survivor of the 2022 Paria diving tragedy, Christopher Boodram, has expressed gratitude not only for the ex-gratia payment made by the Government yesterday, but also for the support extended to his family and the families of the other divers throughout the ordeal.
Speaking with Guardian Media, Boodram said he was informed yesterday morning to collect the cheque.
When asked how he intended to use the money, the commercial diver laughed and declined to comment.
“This is like a breath of fresh air. I am happy that it happened. It is most needed, as some people who followed this would know I was not able to practise my craft since. I am grateful for the nation and the support they gave from the moment it happened, through the uproar, to bring it to this point,” he said.
Boodram acknowledged that publicising the payment posed a security risk but understood that, as a major public incident, the payments needed to be made known.
Taking to social media yesterday after the payments were issued, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the move was long overdue.
“For far too long, the suffering and struggles of the survivor and the bereaved families were ignored by the previous administration, which chose instead to expend public funds on legal fees rather than offering direct assistance, compassion, and care to those left behind,” she said.
Boodram, along with Rishi Nagassar, Kazim Ali Jr, Fyzal Kurban, and Yusuf Henry—employees of Land and Marine Construction Services Ltd (LMCS)—were sucked into a 30-inch underwater pipeline following a differential pressure (Delta P) event while performing maintenance at Berth No. 6 in the Pointe-a-Pierre Harbour on February 25, 2022.
During a Commission of Enquiry led by Jerome Lynch, KC, it was recommended that Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited be charged with corporate manslaughter. The company maintained it was unaware the divers were inside the pipe between 2.45 pm and 5.30 pm and only became aware when Boodram emerged.
Persad-Bissessar said the Government was committed to “accountability, humanity, and the principle that no citizen is left behind.”
While Boodram and the relatives of Nagassar and Kurban have received payments, Persad-Bissessar said payments for the remaining families will be made in due course.
“I emphasised that no amount of money can ever replace a lost loved one. However, these payments are intended to provide meaningful support and relief and to help ease the lives of the affected families and their descendants,” she said.
Speaking at the post-Cabinet media briefing, Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal said payments to the remaining families would follow the resolution of ongoing legal matters.
“For us, it is not just one promise made and one promise kept, but it is contributing to the families. Anyone with compassion, a heart, empathy, would understand that these families have experienced terrible tragedies. In the aftermath, they had been abandoned by the state under the previous administration and therefore needed this type of relief and support—for themselves and, in most cases, their young children. That was done today, and we will continue to provide support as the process unfolds,” Moonilal said.
He added that there was no legal impediment preventing the state from making payments to families who have already received them. However, issues involving insurance claims for the relatives of Ali and Henry are still ongoing with Paria, and payments will be made once those matters are settled.
The Government is also monitoring another court matter related to the incident, involving charges under the Occupational Safety and Health Act against Paria, two of its officials, LMCS, and its director Kazim Ali Snr. The charges may be in limbo after the Privy Council ruled that they were laid outside the limitation period.
