Father of Paria drowning victim dies with broken heart

SIEW Nagassar, the father of Rishi Nagassar, one of the four Paria drowning victims, died with a broken heart on November 24.

Nagassar, 82, also known as Pundooh, who lived at Lady Hailes Avenue, San Fernando, is said to have died regretting that he did not see justice for his son or his dependents.

Rishi’s widow Vanessa Kussie said her father-in-law was ailing when the tragedy happened on February 25, 2022, but his condition had worsened after that.

“He was in a terrible state. He used to come home by us all the time. He never fully recovered,” she said of Nagessar, who sold fish from a scooter in San Fernando.

Funeral arrangements are yet to be made, but nightly wakes are being held at the family’s home.

Speaking about how far and wide the tentacles of the tragedy had spread, Kussie said while she and her son have been at the forefront, they are not the only ones who have suffered.

She said Rishi’s mother, who was separated from the senior Nagassar, who had another family, is still trying to come to terms with her son’s death.

Meanwhile, she said, “Up until now, our son who is five and a first-year student at Mc Bean Hindu primary school, still cries for his father almost daily. He still thinks his father is coming home when he sees a van resembling his, passing on the road.

“These people do not know the agony and pain they have put us through, how our lives have been altered because of their negligence.”

On the day of the drownings, three years ago, four divers employed by Land and Marine Contracting Services Ltd (LMCS) – Nagassar, Christopher Boodram, Yusuf Henry, Fyzal Kurban, and Kazim Ali Junior, whose father is a LMCS director – were doing maintenance work on an underwater pipeline off Berth 6 at Paria’s Pointe-a-Pierre facility.

The hyperbaric chamber flooded and the men were sucked into the pipeline. Boodram managed to escape and promised to return for his colleagues.

The incident, which became the subject of a commission of enquiry (CoE) chaired by Jamaican King’s Counsel Jerome Lynch, heard no effort was made to rescue the four, who reportedly remained alive for days before their bodies were recovered.

Lynch recommended the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should consider charging the Paria Fuel Trading Company with corporate manslaughter, but there is no such offence under TT law. However, managers of the state-owned fuel trading company are facing 15 charges relating to the deaths.

To date, the family have received no compensation either from the state-owned company or their former employer, LMCS.

The CoE, which lasted some 18 months, cost $15,689,000. One of the attorneys representing Paria Fuel in the CoE, Gilbert Peterson SC, was reportedly paid close to $9 million in legal fees.

Hurt and angered by the staggering cost of defending Paria, Kussie said this was grossly unfair, as the survivors have never been compensated.

Attorney Prakash Ramadhar, who is representing the Kurban and Henry families, had asked for an ex-gratia payment of $5 million for each of the victims’ families long before the CoE.

Kussie is now a councillor on the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation. She said instead of spending $15 million on the CoE which brought no comfort to the families, the money could have assisted in ensuring a better life for their children, who had lost their fathers, and families who lost husbands, sons and brothers.

In a phone interview on November 27, she said, “We were not rich, but we were living a good life, because my husband dived for other companies. He was the sole breadwinner for our family, and his death has left us seeking aid and hampers from companies.

“Two weeks ago, Naisa Products gave hampers, which I distributed to the families. All the families have children. At least Paria or LMCS could help the families.

The Nagassar and Boodram families have filed negligence lawsuits against Paria and LMCS. Anand Ramlogan, SC, is leading a team of attorneys on the families' behalf. They have identified 29 grounds on which Paria’s negligence allegedly led to the fatal incident. Some 25 grounds were raised in relation to LMCS as their employer.

They are seeking significant compensation for Nagassar’s death and Boodram’s long-lasting physical and mental injuries. Boodram has been unable to go back to sea after the trauma, curtailing his ability to earn.

Ramadhar is expected to file similar lawsuits for the Kurban and Henry families.