By Prior Beharry
RELATIVES of the four missing divers are camped out outside the main gate of Paria Fuel Trading Company at Pointe-a-Pierre waiting to find out about their loved ones.
They have received no official word from either Paria or LMCS – the company the divers were working for maintaining a sea line at Berth Six when an incident happened.
AZPNews.com spoke to the wife of Rishi Nagassar one of the four missing divers.
Vanessa Kussie who was outside of the main gate with other relatives said they were still hopeful that the men were still alive.
Her cousin Ria Sookhoo-Kowlessar said they were only given information by other workers of LMCS who were on the compound but debarred from the berth where the incident took place.
Also missing are Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry and Kazim Ali Jr who is the son of the owner of LMCS.
Another diver Christopher Boodram was rescued after the five of them were sucked in around 3 pm on Friday. He is currently at the San Fernando General Hospital.
Kussie said she began to cry at their perseverance home when her uncle told her husband was missing at sea around 5 pm on Friday.
She said she called LMCS and none of her calls or text messages were responded to by any member member of LMCS.
Kussie said they arrived at the main gate of Paria around 10.30 pm on Friday after frantically calling the company.
She said the security at the gate said they did not know anything and made them feel uncomfortable.
Sookhoo-Kowlessar said it was only workers of LMCS who were coming out of the compound that gave them some insight into what happened.
She said they were told that when the five men were sucked in a relative of one of the divers came to assist and rescued Boodram.
Kussie said banging on the 36-inch pipeline was being heard and workers from other ships with longer tether lines came to render assistance.
At first, they thought that noise was being caused by a nearby crane but when the crane was switched off, the banging was still heard.
She said the people who came to help were denied access by Paria officials.
Kussie said her husband is a certified diver and they have a three-year-old daughter.
She still believes that her husband is alive.
And Joseph Henry, the father of Yusuf Henry, is claiming negligence.
“Only negligence could cause this, mishaps, negligence. These types of work have to have some safety protocols,” he said.
His son was employed with LMCS Ltd as a welder and certified diver for around three years.
Henry also raised concerns about what occurred during the underwater maintenance works.
Joseph, who had over 30 years of experience as a builder and petty contractor, recalled the only injury he received was a pounded finger.
Many persons offered prayer and supplication for the men.
Meanwhile, the political leader of the Trinidad and Tobago Democratic Front Anthony Williams shared his concerns with AZPNews.com He said he worked alongside divers on major pipelines in the industrial fields.
“I worked on the pipes before they went out to sea and before they were connected to platforms or other projects. I used to go into these pipes to clean them, which would require a confined space which required training to enter.”
Williams said based on his experience, the pipes lacked room for persons to manoeuvre especially with a diver’s tank.
He said, “An inquiry had to be done on how the men were sucked in and whether all safety protocols were aligned with the project.” – with reporting by By Chantalé Fletcher
