Caption: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar with Christopher Boodram and families of victims of Paria tragedy
By Prior Beharry
THE families of the four divers who died in the 2022 Paria pipeline tragedy, along with the lone survivor, Christopher Boodram, will each receive $1 million in ex-gratia payments, the Government announced on Thursday.
The announcement was made at the Diplomatic Centre in Port of Spain after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar met with three of the families.
Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal, speaking at a Cabinet press conference later that day, said the men suffered “slow, painful and terrifying deaths” and blamed what he called a “callous inaction” and “shocking absence of urgency” by the then leadership.
Moonilal said the former administration, led at the time by prime minister Dr Keith Rowley and energy minister Stuart Young, and accused it of prioritising “optics” after the incident.
He said the divers were trapped in a pipeline for several days from February 25, 2022, “hoping, praying, believing that help will come,” and argued that the commission of enquiry only materialised after sustained national and international pressure.
He also criticised the previous government for failing to provide any relief to the families and Boodram, saying that while “tens of millions of dollars were spent on lawyers and legal fees,” no payments were made. Moonilal said a pre-election pledge by Young to provide $1 million payments “never materialised,” describing it as “political damage control.”
Moonilal said the new United National Congress (UNC) administration had now “rectified a public wrong,” as Persad-Bissessar presented $1 million payments to Boodram, Vanessa Kussie, widow of diver Rishi Nagessar, and the families of Fyzal Kurban and the other deceased divers. He said the Government faced “no legal impediment” to making the payments, though some families first had to complete legal steps to validate eligibility.
He said the other two families had legal proceedings pending and he was in touch with them.
The tragedy occurred at Paria Fuel’s Pointe-à-Pierre facility, where five men were sucked into a 36-inch pipeline from a hyperbaric chamber while working. Boodram was the only survivor.
Boodram and relatives have said they are seeking more than financial assistance, including an admission of liability from Paria and the former administration, updates on the police investigation, and justice for the deaths.
LMCS divers Nagassar, Kurban, Kazim Ali Jr, and Yusuf Henry, and Christopher Boodram were conducting maintenance works when they were sucked into a 30-inch pipeline belonging to Paria.
