By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE first public procedural hearing for the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into the Paria diving tragedy begins today (Wednesday, September 7, 2022).
The hearing will be held at Tower D of the International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain and will continue on Thursday.
It will begin at 10.30 am on both days.
The CoE has been tasked with enquiring into the circumstances which led to the deaths of four divers who were conducting repairs on an underwater pipeline on February 25.
The pipeline is located at No. 36 sealine riser on the Berth 6 offshore platform at Pointe-a-Pierre and belongs to Paria Trading Fuel Company.
Christopher Boodram, Fyzal Kurban, Rishi Nagassar, Kazim Ali Jr and Yusuf Henry, employees of LMCS were conducting maintenance works around 2.45 p.m. when they were all sucked into the pipeline.
Boodram is the sole survivor from the incident. The bodies belonging to the other four were retrieved from the pipeline days later.
After several attempts to form a CoE by the government, Jamaican Dennis Morrison QC, was appointed as chairman in March but he later resigned, citing personal reasons.
In July, another Jamaican Jerome Lynch, QC, was appointed as chairman of the commission, which also comprises of subsea specialist Gregory Wilson.
The CoE is supported by attorney Ramesh Lawrence-Maharaj and his legal team.
At a press conference held in July, Lynch promised to “leave no stone unturned” in the investigation.
The procedural hearing also be live-streamed from the CoE’s website at www.coe2022.com.
