[UPDATED] Hope dims for missing divers, relatives knock Paria over rescue mission

Relatives of the four divers who went missing while working on a 36-inch oil pipeline at Pointe-a-Pierre during a routine maintenance job on Friday are not convinced enough is being done to rescue or recover the men.

They remained uncomforted by assurances from Energy Minister Stuart Young and Paria Fuel Trading Co Ltd general manager Mushtaq Mohammed that everything possible that could be done, is being done.

Last night, Paria was moving to empty the pipeline to allow rescue divers to go in.

Some relatives gathered outside Paria for hours on Saturday hoping to get news that the men who went missing around 2.30 pm on Friday would be found alive.

The divers have been identified as Fyzal Kurban, Rishi Nagassar, Kazim Ali Jr, Yusuf Henry and Christopher Boodram.

Boodram was rescued on Friday evening by diver Ronald Ramoutar who was also a relative of Kurban.

“We hope they are alive. Air pockets are the only thing now that could keep them alive. They have no air in their tanks. We retrieved tanks and they were completely empty,” he said on Saturday morning.

Candy Boodram said on Saturday that her husband, the only one rescued, was resting in stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital.

She said all tests so far have showed no complications.

She said her husband is speaking and was coherent. He said the incident happened so quickly and all he remembered was being sucked into a pipe. "The suction was strong, and they (divers) had to fight their way out of it," she said.

“He said they met up at an air pocket and one of his colleagues was injured and could not move. Somehow, he swam up and was grabbed by another diver.

“So far, he is okay, but they are doing continuous testing.”

The men worked for contracting company LMCS Ltd, based in San Fernando. It provides services such as project management, engineering design, procurement and construction services, inclusive of diving-related underwater services and marine logistics support. The owner of the company, Kazim Ali’s son, was among the missing divers.

Tricia Ramoutar believed the team in charge of the rescue mission was unsure about what to do and were dragging their feet which could be the difference between survival or death for the men.

Ramoutar, sister-in-law of Kurban, said they have been on the compound around 4 pm yesterday and were still unable to get any concrete information about the men’s situation.

On Saturday, the four families gathered in Paria’s parking lot hoping to get more information from the company. Around 11 am they were called in for a meeting with the Minister of Energy and Paria’s general manager.

“We had a meeting this morning and there was no information just talk. My nephews have been out there since morning and that is where we are getting our information from. We are frustrated,” Ramoutar said.

The Kurban family said it had a long line of commercial divers who were able to intercept the distress call and rush to the site.

Ramoutar said her family spearheaded the rescue effort in which Boodram was saved but attempts to further assist have been blocked by Paria.

“If it wasn’t for my family nothing would have been happening out there. I don’t know what the a** would have been the state of affairs. It would have been five families here instead of four.

“From since 3 pm or 4 pm (Friday), my nephew made a recommendation and they (Paria) ignored him. Now they are doing it. My nephews said they were hearing a faded knock and moaning; we don’t know if they were gasping for air or injured,” she said.

Nagassar’s wife, Vanessa Kussie said she was scared of breaking the news to their three-year-old son.

She said while leaving home on Saturday morning he stood in the yard waiting for him to pull up with the van.

Kussie said, “Paria up to know has not called to tell us what was going on. They not bothering with anybody.

“My son still looking for the van to come home. I know my husband is a fighter.”

Kussie said the updates given by Paria were unsatisfactory and were preventing volunteers and standby divers from assisting.

Newsday tried to get in contact with LMCS Ltd owner Kazim Ali Snr but calls to his cellphone went to voicemail.

At the meeting with relatives, Young said, “I don’t want anybody being distracted. The job at hand now has to be to find your family members. That is where the focus has to be and whatever resources have to be used, we will be using those resources.

“I am very, very sorry on my behalf and on the behalf of everybody else that this is what we are facing. We are doing everything we possibly can to get to them.”

He told the families that Paria and the ministry cannot give any guarantees and assurances about the rescue mission.

“There can be no guarantees or assurances at this stage. I have never made any promises in this role because there is so little in my control, but what I can say is that I have a sense of assurance that all that can be done is being done.”

Young met with the families on Saturday after his return Friday night from Doha, Qatar where TT participated in the conference of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

Mohammed said the incident occurred around 2.30 pm on Friday and since then Paria has been using its resources and working with the Coast Guard to save the men.

“We brought in specialist contractors with a variety of equipment including cameras and things that could actually fall into the pipe to locate the divers.

“As we stand today, we have begun a pumping exercise to pump out of that pipeline things that are there so we can continue operations. That pumping period is about one hour and a half or two hours. After we get those liquids out, we would have the cameras go back in and try to locate where exactly these guys are.”

Young and Mohammed said the company was using all resources to find the men but Paria and the Ministry cannot give any guarantees and assurances about the rescue mission.

This statement sparked frustration among the already enraged relatives who said the company was withholding information and was negligent with the divers' lives.

In an updated statement on Saturday around 3 pm, Paria said it continued its rescue operations with various stakeholders and was working assiduously to support this activity and provide counselling to support the families and employees.

“The divers who were engaged in this operation are all certified and have a total of over 30 years’ experience among them. The immediate response to the incident included the mobilisation of experienced rescue teams to work with Paria in their efforts to search for the missing men whilst ensuring the safety of the personnel present.

“Operational scenarios were risk assessed and implemented and included the use of remotely operated vehicles (RoVs) and other technology. The coast guard and other subject matter experts were in support of this operation,” Paria said.

This story was updated with additional details. Below is the original story published under the headline Paria underwater survivor gets treatment, 4 divers still missing

One diver has been transferred to a decompression chamber in La Brea on Saturday morning, while the search continues for four other divers who went missing Friday night during an underwater project at a berth operated by Paria Trading Co Ltd in Pointe-a-Pierre.

On Saturday, Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs Stuart Young, Paria general manager Mushtaq Mohammed and other officials met with the relatives of the missing men in Pointe-a-Pierre.

Young said, “I don’t want anybody being distracted. The job at hand now has to be to find your family members. That is where the focus has to be and whatever resources have to be used, we will be using those resources.

“I am very, very sorry on behalf and on the behalf of everybody else that this is what we are facing. We are doing everything we possibly can to get to them.”

He told the families that Paria and the ministry cannot give any guarantees and assurances about the rescue mission. It has been over 24 hours since the men went missing. They have been identified as Fyzal Kurban, Rishi Nagassar, Kazim Ali Jr and Yuseph Henry. The survivor is Christopher Boodram.

Young met with the families on Saturday after his return Friday night from Doha, Qatar where TT participated in the conference of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

Mushtaq said the incident occurred around 2.30 pm on Friday and since then Paria has been using its resources and working with the Coast Guard to save the men.

“We brought in specialist contractors with a variety of equipment including cameras and things that could actually fall into the pipe to locate the divers.

“As we stand today, we have begun a pumping exercise to pump out of that pipeline things that are there so we can continue operations. That pumping period is about one hour and a half or two hours. After we get those liquids out, we would have the cameras go back in and try to locate where exactly these guys are.”

The men worked for contracting company LMCS Ltd, based in San Fernando, which provides services such as project management, engineering design, procurement and construction services, inclusive of diving-related underwater services and marine logistics support. The owner of the company, Kazim Ali’s son, was among the missing divers.

Paria, in a media statement issued around 9 pm on Friday, said five employees of LMCS Ltd, a private contractor, were conducting an underwater maintenance exercise at No 36 Sealine riser, berth six, when “an incident occurred.”

It resulted in “the loss of sight” of the five-member team who were being monitored from the shore.

The dive team was installing a riser to a 36-inch pipe used to get oil out, when a valve either was opened or blew causing a vacuum pulling in the team.