Gulf of Paria Underwater Welders Deaths: Lawsuits Filed

[pugboy]

govt say crime too bad and not listing names of who get to eat ah food

[The_Honourable]

Paria enquiry seeks new deadline – November 30

THE Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into last February's fatal diving acccident at Paria Fuel Trading Co Ltd in Pointe-a-Pierre is requesting a new deadline of November 30 to submit its final report.

A statement issued by the commission's secretariat on Monday said the commission was unable to meet its previous deadline of August 31.

The commission has written to President Christine Kangaloo to ask for an extension until November 30.

Meanwhile, the commission will hold a virtual news conference in the first week in September. At that briefing, CoE chairman Jerome Lynch, KC, will address any questions arising from this development.

On February 25, 2022, divers Rishi Nagassar, Kazim Ali Jr, Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry and Christopher Boodram were doing maintenance work on a 30-inch underwater pipeline belonging to Paria when they were suddenly sucked into the pipeline. Only Boodram survived.

The CoE was originally due to submit its final report to the President in May.

But in a statement on May 5, the commission said it had written to Kangaloo to seek an extension until August 31.

The commission said the delay was necessary, as those who were issued with Salmon letters have been given until June 9 to respond in writing, and until June 21 and 22 to respond orally.

Salmon letters are sent to individuals or companies that will be subject to criticism in a report.

In a statement on July 14, the commission said its chairman Jerome Lynch, KC, and his fellow commissioner Gregory Wilson are working very hard to finalise the report.

"However, there has recently been a number of decisions dealing with the importance of the proper procedure to be adopted in CoEs.

The commission cited two cases.

The first was from the United Kingdom, R (Hexpress Healthcare Ltd) –v- Care Quality Commission.

The second was local, Civil Appeal P 286 of 2020 between Hart –v- The CoE-La Alturas Housing and others.

The commission said, "These cases deal with a range of issues to ensure fairness to everyone and that the parties have a fair opportunity to make their case in particular where there are to be criticisms of individuals that may affect their careers and lead to recommendations as to criminal conduct or a potential for the breach of a duty of care."

The commission added that it has "sought to ensure that very outcome and everything it has done has been to ensure that no one is shut out. "

The CoE has received approximately 400 pages of detailed response to its provisional findings and a number of legal arguments that it needs to address.

"This process generates delay but it is a price worth paying to ensure a robust report insulated from unfairness.

The commission said, "We continue to work to have this report completed within the timetable provided and we are confident we will, albeit marginally later, than hoped."

https://newsday.co.tt/2023/08/28/paria- ... vember-30/

[DMan7]

They are just going to play this thing out and hope everyone forgets it eh?

[sMASH]

Marlene Macdonald and stuart young step daughter still awaiting cases ent?

[The_Honourable]

Like Paria and Kenson realize from preliminary findings they not looking good in the report...

Press statement – 6 September 2023

On the 28 August 2023 I applied to the President for an extension to the deadline for producing the report and made that application public. On 30 August 2023 some of the family members of Yussuf Henry, Rishi Nagassar and Fyzal Kurban together with Christopher Boodram and no doubt keenly felt by Kazim Ali Jnr’s family issued a statement which in part said the following (I have edited out the more emotive language aimed at Paria):

Th[e] darkness still exists, even after more than a year. Our families struggle to deal with the murder of our loved ones, the permanent disruption of our livelihoods, the flashbacks, sleepless nights and haunting images of what happened - or may have happened - in that pipeline as a result of the..actions of the management of Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited.

It is, therefore, an angering, irksome, unwelcome, insulting and unjust development for the Commission of Enquiry to request a further extension for the submission of the report.

The Commissioners, staff and other involved agencies would have been well aware of their initial deadline of August 31, and should have been working in such fashion to ensure the meeting of this deadline.

The undertaking of responsibilities associated with this Commission report cannot be seen as simply a job, but rather viewed as a critical component in the delivery of justice.

Whilst we do not accept that their criticism is entirely fair, we can and do understand their deep sense of frustration at this further delay and I therefore apologise to them, first. That apology is extended to everyone awaiting the final outcome of this report.

It is clear from the families and others that they have already formed the view that they hold Paria responsible. We do not have the luxury of pre-judging.

We must approach this in an unbiased, objective way, examining all the evidence before reaching our view of the facts and what that means for the people involved. Whilst we have a very considerable degree of flexibility in how we approach that task we are bound by the law. The procedure for our Commission of Enquiry is derived from the Commission of Enquiry Act 1892, our Procedural Rules as Gazetted on the 22 July 2022 and the Common Law Rules of Natural Justice.

It is exactly a year and a day since I opened this CoE. You will recall that I told everyone we hoped to have the report ready by Easter 2023. That was ambitious but I believed achievable.

At that time I did not know that we would have 78 witnesses generating circa 3350 pages of detailed evidence and circa 13,500 pages of exhibits. I leave aside videos, audios, pictures, transcripts, letters and other correspondence. In truth, at the time, I knew little of the material we would have to work through but I was, and remained optimistic of an expeditious timetable, in the interests of those most affected by this tragedy and was not prepared to brook delay.

In drafting the report it became clear that this would take longer than planned and I made an application to the President to extend the time needed on 4 May 2023, to August 2023. On the 9 June 2023 the Court of Appeal in Trinidad handed down a judgement in the Las Alturas Housing matter. Unusually they issued guidelines that went well beyond the judgement needed to determine that case. They set out how a CoE should conduct themselves so as to achieve procedural fairness, acting prudently to ensure that all parties had every opportunity to make their case and deal with any criticisms that may arise. We have been much assisted by that judgement. We have determined that the procedural fairness we have strived to achieve from the outset can properly be augmented by taking into account the learning from the Court of Appeal. That we will do, albeit it will generate some further delay as they recognised.

At this stage of the Enquiry the proceedings have to be in private. You know that we have sought to be as open as good practice, good conscience and the law permit, by placing all correspondence and every document on the web-site; live-streaming the evidence called; and then making the transcripts of the evidence available to all. But after that and prior to the report being concluded it has to be in private. That is where we are now.

This is how it works:

• We draft a preliminary report – that is detailed and analytical work – it necessarily involves make a number of preliminary findings. It is currently in the 200 page range.

That has been done.

• Where those findings may adversely affect any particular party, be it company or individual, we must identify the issue, tell them what the preliminary finding is and upon what it is based. Whilst I cannot tell you to who or whom letters have been sent it is a significant number.

That has been done.

• Next, we must then give them a proper opportunity to respond, that takes time, especially where the criticisms are lengthy and detailed. It would be unwise to curtail a reasonable request for time to provide those responses. We are in receipt of 100’s of pages of detailed responses, which themselves reference many other documents and evidence.

That has been done.

• Now that we have received all the responses we must collate the material, cross reference it and consider whether the response ought properly to affect our preliminary views.

That is in the process of being done.

• We have determined that once complete we ought to provide a further opportunity to any of those whom we may seek to criticise, to make any further submissions as to why that should not happen. This also takes time. It is this additional layer of consultation that has played a part in dictating our request of the President for further time. We will provide each party where appropriate, with a summary or extract of the proposed report for them to respond.

Clearly that has yet to be done.

Before I open the floor to any questions there are a couple of other observations I would like to make.

There has been some media speculation that the cause of the delay has been as a result of either political or Company (Paria) interference, in some way. I can state categorically that is not the case. If there were even a whiff of such an approach, I would make that very public indeed.

After our initial hiccups with the necessary facilities the government and in particular Hon Stuart Young MP have done all they can to facilitate and expedite this report and I am confident they will wish to publish it in short order once concluded.

Similarly, we place no blame at anyone else’s door for this delay.

The delay, such as it is, is mine, I have decided that we will take a little more time and add additional safeguards so as to ensure fairness to all and limit the potential for further litigation aimed at thwarting the legitimate aims of this Enquiry.

But, it would be remiss of us, and not in keeping with the purpose of this press conference not to tell you that we have received letters from lawyers representing Kenson’s employees on 2 August (and previously) and from lawyers representing Heritage and Paria yesterday. Both suggest they have been unfairly treated and that the Commissioners, I suspect primarily me, have displayed an apparent bias and that we should be recused.

I do not deal with the merits of those complaints now as they have yet to be fully articulated and a Press Conference is not the right forum. But, whilst I wholeheartedly reject those allegations, I would have thought that if there was to be an application for recusal on the grounds of apparent bias it is normal, in the first instance, for that to be made before the tribunal engaged
in the process. As yet, no request has been made for the CoE to resume sitting to hear such an application.

https://coe2022.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... tement.pdf

[16 cycles]

in watching the CoE, neither commish seemed bias.

JL (KC) was quite patient especially with some of the testimony offered

[st7]

on the front page of Reddit.

[death365]

This morning...


But yuh kno na ... trinis only have short term memory. BTW what's the status of this?


"Just asking for a friend"

[pjfred]

It's a cover up, before the commissioner can make his report public it must be edited by the peenm crew. Remember they closed petrotrine and reopened a shell company run by a skeleton crew with no expertise.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

This morning...


But yuh kno na ... trinis only have short term memory. BTW what's the status of this?


"Just asking for a friend"Screenshot_20231107_050146_Reddit.jpg

Results of the COE were expected to be released sometime this month

[Val]

This morning...


But yuh kno na ... trinis only have short term memory. BTW what's the status of this?


"Just asking for a friend"Screenshot_20231107_050146_Reddit.jpg

Results of the COE were expected to be released sometime this month

end of November.

[The_Honourable]

Final report goes to President Nov 30

The final report into the Paria diving tragedy which claimed four lives is to be delivered to President Christine Kangaloo on November 30.

This is according to secretary to the commission of enquiry Sarah Sinanan.

However, lone survivor Christopher Boodram, says he is not holding his breath.

“I am trying not to think about it. I have been disappointed too many times,” he said in an interview with the Express yesterday.

Commission of enquiry chairman Jerome Lynch, KC, had initially hoped to hand in a draft report in early April, with the final report at the end of that month.

But since then, there had been two requests for extensions, with Lynch stating the volume of evidence was far greater than he had anticipated. The commission requested an extension to August 31, but there was a further delay, and another request was submitted for an extension to November 30.

The final report will contain the commission’s findings into the incident, along with recommendations. Lynch has suggested the report be made public.

Boodram said the commission’s report into the incident was the first step in finding closure for him and the loved ones of the four deceased divers.

He said, “This report was the first step to closure. Now I am living a life filled with anxiety and panic attacks. My co-workers and I were left to suffer inside that pipeline. I thank God I managed to get out.”

On February 25, 2022, five LMCS divers—Kazim Ali Jnr, 36; Fyzal Kurban, 57; Yusuf Henry, 31; Rishi Nagassar, 48; and Christopher Boodram, then 36—were conducting maintenance works on a pipeline owned by Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd in Pointe-a-Pierre, when they were sucked into the pipeline. Boodram was the lone survivor.

The commission heard evidence over a six-month period, with the final piece of evidence, the hyperbaric chamber, being viewed on the compound of Paria, Pointe-a-Pierre, in March.

The enquiry into the tragedy was chaired by Lynch and included fellow commissioner Gregory Wilson, a subsea specialist. The commission was represented by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC.

The enquiry has accumulated $21 million in costs so far between the Office of the Prime Minister and Paria.

At a virtual news conference in September, Lynch said lawyers from Paria and Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd sent letters to the commission; and prior to that, attorneys from Kenson—a service contractor to oil and gas companies—sent letters on August 2 and previously, all claiming bias.

He said further that there has been some media speculation that the cause of the delay has been as a result of either political or company (Paria) interference in some way, but stated categorically: “That is not the case. If there were even a whiff of such an approach, I would make that very public indeed.”

https://trinidadexpress.com/newsextra/f ... 89013.html

[matix]

Final report goes to President Nov 30

The final report into the Paria diving tragedy which claimed four lives is to be delivered to President Christine Kangaloo on November 30.

This is according to secretary to the commission of enquiry Sarah Sinanan.

However, lone survivor Christopher Boodram, says he is not holding his breath.

“I am trying not to think about it. I have been disappointed too many times,” he said in an interview with the Express yesterday.

Commission of enquiry chairman Jerome Lynch, KC, had initially hoped to hand in a draft report in early April, with the final report at the end of that month.

But since then, there had been two requests for extensions, with Lynch stating the volume of evidence was far greater than he had anticipated. The commission requested an extension to August 31, but there was a further delay, and another request was submitted for an extension to November 30.

The final report will contain the commission’s findings into the incident, along with recommendations. Lynch has suggested the report be made public.

Boodram said the commission’s report into the incident was the first step in finding closure for him and the loved ones of the four deceased divers.

He said, “This report was the first step to closure. Now I am living a life filled with anxiety and panic attacks. My co-workers and I were left to suffer inside that pipeline. I thank God I managed to get out.”

On February 25, 2022, five LMCS divers—Kazim Ali Jnr, 36; Fyzal Kurban, 57; Yusuf Henry, 31; Rishi Nagassar, 48; and Christopher Boodram, then 36—were conducting maintenance works on a pipeline owned by Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd in Pointe-a-Pierre, when they were sucked into the pipeline. Boodram was the lone survivor.

The commission heard evidence over a six-month period, with the final piece of evidence, the hyperbaric chamber, being viewed on the compound of Paria, Pointe-a-Pierre, in March.

The enquiry into the tragedy was chaired by Lynch and included fellow commissioner Gregory Wilson, a subsea specialist. The commission was represented by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC.

The enquiry has accumulated $21 million in costs so far between the Office of the Prime Minister and Paria.

At a virtual news conference in September, Lynch said lawyers from Paria and Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd sent letters to the commission; and prior to that, attorneys from Kenson—a service contractor to oil and gas companies—sent letters on August 2 and previously, all claiming bias.

He said further that there has been some media speculation that the cause of the delay has been as a result of either political or company (Paria) interference in some way, but stated categorically: “That is not the case. If there were even a whiff of such an approach, I would make that very public indeed.”

https://trinidadexpress.com/newsextra/f ... 89013.html

I hope this report is made public.

[The_Honourable]

Paria COE to sit one last time on Nov 29

The Commission of Enquiry into the Paria Diving Tragedy will convene a virtual sitting on Wednesday 29th November 2023 at 2:00 p.m.

The Commission says this will be its final sitting and it's not expected to last more than one hour.

Chairman Jerome Lynch KC has asked for several extensions before submitting the final report. Its original deadline of Easter pushed back to August, then November. Lynch was ensuring all parties named in the report were given the opportunity to see how they were reflected and then allowed to respond.

The commission's secretariat noted in a release counsel are not required to attend but may choose to do so if they wish.

Members of the public who wish to attend are asked to contact the Commission’s Secretariat on or before 4:00 p.m. on Monday 27th November 2023.

Should members of the media wish to ask any questions, we ask that these questions be emailed to the Commission’s Secretariat at commissionsecretariat@coe2022.com on or before 4:00pm on Monday 27th November 2023.

https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/paria-c ... c98d4ef400


In an e-mail response to Newsday on Tuesday, commission officials said, "The 30th November deadline still stands."

https://newsday.co.tt/2023/11/22/paria- ... -deadline/

[Val]

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ex ... 4647324608

Stream of today's public statement. Clearly the investigation process deeply disturbed the Commission.

[bluefete]

Enquiry chairman: Paria report will see light of day

HUGE RED FLAG:

"After the report is submitted to Kangaloo, it will be sent to the Cabinet, which will study it and determine the next step."
https://newsday.co.tt/2023/11/29/enquir ... ht-of-day/

Lynch: Paria diving tragedy 'no act of God'
https://newsday.co.tt/2023/11/29/lynch- ... ct-of-god/

[shake d livin wake d dead]

is if the findings would be made public

[paid_influencer]

Enquiry chairman: Paria report will see light of day

HUGE RED FLAG:

"After the report is submitted to Kangaloo, it will be sent to the Cabinet, which will study it and determine the next step."
https://newsday.co.tt/2023/11/29/enquir ... ht-of-day/

Lynch: Paria diving tragedy 'no act of God'
https://newsday.co.tt/2023/11/29/lynch- ... ct-of-god/

I wonder what the next step will be

[supercharged turbo]

Another CoE

[The_Honourable]

Lawsuits are coming

Whether the Commission of Enquiry’s report into the 2022 Paria Diving tragedy is made public or not, attorney Prakash Ramadhar says he will be pursuing legal action against those who may be liable on behalf of the victims’ families.

Ramadhar, who represents the families of divers 57-year-old Fyzal Kurban and 31-year-old Yusuf Henry, who perished after being sucked inside a pipeline owned by Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd on February 25 last year, made the announcement while speaking at a news conference yesterday.

He spoke to reporters following a final virtual sitting of the Commission into the diving tragedy, hosted by Commissioner Jerome Lynch, KC.

He said his team will be filing actions against those viewed as responsible for the tragedy.

He also called for ex-gratia payments to be made to the grieving families of all four divers who died—Kazim Ali Jnr, Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry and Rishi Nagassar—and lone survivor Christopher Boodram.

“We hope and expect that those who are liable and those who are responsible will know in their heart and do the right thing, the common decent thing and do an ex-gratia payment so that the families will no longer have to wait and suffer. We know once we engage court, we get a judgment and for those whose resources are unlimited because it is the public purse, may choose to appeal to the Court of Appeal and then to the Privy Council and this is not the case for that. We ask for humanity to be our guiding light,” Ramadhar said.

He said the question of whether the Commission’s findings, which are expected to be sent to President Christine Kangaloo today, would be made available to the public, has caused him “discomfort”.

He said he expected that the Government would take the decision to release the report when it is passed on from the President.

“I would shudder to imagine that any responsible government would not make the report public. I expect that they will. My expectations are bound on what is decent and what is common courtesy and what is right and proper,” Ramadhar said.

The families of the deceased divers have been struggling to deal with the sudden deaths of their loved ones both financially and emotionally, he said. The Kurban family had found it difficult to fund the tertiary education of a close relative while others were left without a source of income, Ramadhar added.

He called on the Government to ensure that the affected families were made comfortable, adding that it was not too late for payments to be made to them.

“The chairman also said as a matter of human decency he would have expected, as we would have been saying from day one, that an ex-gratia payment be made to the families. I stand today with some of my clients, not all of them, because some have children who had school...without a father, without a breadwinner and these families have been left bereft without knowing where their next meal would have come from, knowing what security they have for the future and their children and once again it is obscene and absurd to this day not a single cent has been paid to any one of these families as an ex-gratia payment,” Ramadhar argued.

“It is not too late, it is late, yes, but the Government can do the right and proper thing as a matter of common decency to ensure that these families can get some comfort financially. One of the children in this Kurban family is in university and they have to scrape by every term to be able to keep her at university. There are those I remember last year, the families had to hold a barbecue before Christmas so they could raise money for the children,” he said.

No rescue

Ramadhar congratulated the chairman and the Commission for the completion of the report, adding that he felt a sense of relief.

He said that he agreed with the statements presented during the final hearing, that the deaths were no act of God.

He said he was waiting with bated breath to see the wording of the report.

“This has been our position, these men need not have died if those who had the responsibility and therefore the duty, took upon themselves to exercise power that was given to them or taken by them to allow the rescue. They had the resources. You had the son of Mr Kurban’s son waiting and pleading to go in to save his own father and they were prevented by the arms of the Coast Guard and the management of Paria.

Today up till today, the Commissioner spoke to this, no one has the responsibility, in fact I will always remember, one of the members having said after a cross-examination of him, how would he rate the conduct of Paria’s team on that day. After deep reflection he said excellent. Excellent that four men would be allowed to perish and they considered themselves in their actions to have been excellent. That is obscene,” he said.

https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/ ... 19067.html

[wing]

Lawsuits are coming

Whether the Commission of Enquiry’s report into the 2022 Paria Diving tragedy is made public or not, attorney Prakash Ramadhar says he will be pursuing legal action against those who may be liable on behalf of the victims’ families.

Ramadhar, who represents the families of divers 57-year-old Fyzal Kurban and 31-year-old Yusuf Henry, who perished after being sucked inside a pipeline owned by Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd on February 25 last year, made the announcement while speaking at a news conference yesterday.

He spoke to reporters following a final virtual sitting of the Commission into the diving tragedy, hosted by Commissioner Jerome Lynch, KC.

He said his team will be filing actions against those viewed as responsible for the tragedy.

He also called for ex-gratia payments to be made to the grieving families of all four divers who died—Kazim Ali Jnr, Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry and Rishi Nagassar—and lone survivor Christopher Boodram.

“We hope and expect that those who are liable and those who are responsible will know in their heart and do the right thing, the common decent thing and do an ex-gratia payment so that the families will no longer have to wait and suffer. We know once we engage court, we get a judgment and for those whose resources are unlimited because it is the public purse, may choose to appeal to the Court of Appeal and then to the Privy Council and this is not the case for that. We ask for humanity to be our guiding light,” Ramadhar said.

He said the question of whether the Commission’s findings, which are expected to be sent to President Christine Kangaloo today, would be made available to the public, has caused him “discomfort”.

He said he expected that the Government would take the decision to release the report when it is passed on from the President.

“I would shudder to imagine that any responsible government would not make the report public. I expect that they will. My expectations are bound on what is decent and what is common courtesy and what is right and proper,” Ramadhar said.

The families of the deceased divers have been struggling to deal with the sudden deaths of their loved ones both financially and emotionally, he said. The Kurban family had found it difficult to fund the tertiary education of a close relative while others were left without a source of income, Ramadhar added.

He called on the Government to ensure that the affected families were made comfortable, adding that it was not too late for payments to be made to them.

“The chairman also said as a matter of human decency he would have expected, as we would have been saying from day one, that an ex-gratia payment be made to the families. I stand today with some of my clients, not all of them, because some have children who had school...without a father, without a breadwinner and these families have been left bereft without knowing where their next meal would have come from, knowing what security they have for the future and their children and once again it is obscene and absurd to this day not a single cent has been paid to any one of these families as an ex-gratia payment,” Ramadhar argued.

“It is not too late, it is late, yes, but the Government can do the right and proper thing as a matter of common decency to ensure that these families can get some comfort financially. One of the children in this Kurban family is in university and they have to scrape by every term to be able to keep her at university. There are those I remember last year, the families had to hold a barbecue before Christmas so they could raise money for the children,” he said.

No rescue

Ramadhar congratulated the chairman and the Commission for the completion of the report, adding that he felt a sense of relief.

He said that he agreed with the statements presented during the final hearing, that the deaths were no act of God.

He said he was waiting with bated breath to see the wording of the report.

“This has been our position, these men need not have died if those who had the responsibility and therefore the duty, took upon themselves to exercise power that was given to them or taken by them to allow the rescue. They had the resources. You had the son of Mr Kurban’s son waiting and pleading to go in to save his own father and they were prevented by the arms of the Coast Guard and the management of Paria.

Today up till today, the Commissioner spoke to this, no one has the responsibility, in fact I will always remember, one of the members having said after a cross-examination of him, how would he rate the conduct of Paria’s team on that day. After deep reflection he said excellent. Excellent that four men would be allowed to perish and they considered themselves in their actions to have been excellent. That is obscene,” he said.

https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/ ... 19067.html

Of course the families are entitled to hefty compensation. I won't be surprised to see the first billion dollar award. Too bad Praks, &&, Kiel, Jaya and the other bottom feeders will get a nice cut too. Well the yellow mess opposition will need lots of funding for elections, though.

[teems1]

Stories like this is why you need some life insurance if you work in high risk jobs.

The premium may be higher, but you won't leave your family in a quandary.

[The_Honourable]

Report in President’s hands

President Christine Kangaloo has received the final report into the Paria diving tragedy.

Whether that document would be made public, and shared with the families of the four LMCS divers who lost their lives inside an undersea pipeline in February 2022, is however up to the Government led by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

The 380-page document was handed over by Commission of Enquiry chairman Jerome Lynch, KC, and Commissioner Gregory Wilson at the Office of the President at 10.30 a.m. yesterday. The Commissioners attached a letter to the document, which was read at the final sitting on Wednesday.

President Kangaloo had appointed the CoE on the request of the Prime Minister.

The President will now send a copy of the CoE report to the Prime Minister who will then decide whether it will be made public via the Parliament.

On February 25, 2022, five LMCS divers—Kazim Ali Jnr, 36; Fyzal Kurban, 57; Yusuf Henry, 31; Rishi Nagassar, 48; and Christopher Boodram, then 36—were conducting maintenance works on a pipeline owned by Paria Fuel Trading Co Ltd in Pointe-a-Pierre, when they were sucked into the pipeline.

Boodram was the only person to emerge from the pipeline alive.

The commission heard evidence over a six-month period, with the final piece of evidence, the hyperbaric chamber, being viewed on the compound of Paria, Pointe-a-Pierre, in March.

The commission was represented by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC.

On Wednesday, Lynch said should the findings of the report be adopted by all involved, the horrific deaths suffered by the four LMCS divers will never happen again.

And he recommended that the report be made public, and immediately given to the families of the victims.

Lynch thanked the President, government, families of the victims and the people of Trinidad and Tobago for their patience, as there had been delays in preparing the final report.

The Commission had made two requests for extensions.

Lynch said on assuming the position as chairman he took the view that the enquiry would be completed within six months, but noted that the material to be considered was “beyond what I had anticipated”.

He said the men did not die inside the pipeline by accident, neither was it an act of God, and their families should have been assisted when they needed it the most.

And he questioned why the families of the victims did not receive an ex-gratia payment, without anyone having to accept liability.

Boodram, and the families of the four deceased divers, have made appeals for the report to be made public.

Lynch responded that if it was up to him, he would have gifted the document to the families, “but it is up to your Government”.

Former Petrotrin workers: Five years later

Meanwhile, on the fifth anniversary of the closure of State-owned Petrotrin yesterday, former workers gathered outside the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery in for a peaceful demonstration.

The former workers gathered at the Pointe-a-Pierre roundabout at 4.30 p.m. in remembrance of the “decimation of the company”, stated the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU).

“Five years following the closure that placed all company workers and their families on the breadline, workers and the country continue to suffer as a result of the heartless decision made by the Government,” the trade union stated.

The workers were addressed by president general Ancel Roget who called for the CoE report to be made public.

https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/ ... ab46a.html

[pugboy]

lynch language clearly show his position on this whole tragedy

[j.o.e]

Stories like this is why you need some life insurance if you work in high risk jobs.

The premium may be higher, but you won't leave your family in a quandary.

Stories like this is why you need life insurance **full stop**

[pugboy]

lot of them divers operate as independent contractors too
company doh have to study workmen’s comp ins as well

Stories like this is why you need some life insurance if you work in high risk jobs.

The premium may be higher, but you won't leave your family in a quandary.

Stories like this is why you need life insurance **full stop**

[The_Honourable]

PM has CoE report on Paria diving tragedy

President Christine Kangaloo has confirmed receiving a report from the Commissioners of the Paria Diving tragedy and handing it over to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. A source at the President’s Office, who did not wish to be named, said yesterday: “Her Excellency received the report yesterday (Thursday) morning and it was handed over to the Office of the Prime Minister the same day.” However, attorneys representing the affected families are aiming to obtain a copy of the report.

Attorney Prakash Ramadhar told Guardian Media yesterday he plans to correspond with the Prime Minister in the coming week, formally requesting access to the report.

Stressing the urgency of public disclosure, Ramadhar said: “We appreciate that the Government will need to reflect deeply and release it publicly. We are asking for an expeditious release.”

While he acknowledged there would be a process to be followed by the Government, Ramadhar optimistically anticipated a potential release by mid-January.

“I would imagine by mid-January we should have that properly put before Parliament and in the public space. That is highly optimistic but it is my expectation,” he added.

Ramadhar also highlighted the preparedness of legal advisors for the families and their willingness to explore legal recourse. But he said he hoped this would end with proper compensation for the families.

“We are prepared to go to court but it’s a road I would rather not proceed on, because of the expense of litigation for taxpayers. Of course, we are representing the families free of charge,” he added.

Ramadhar agreed with Commission Chairman Jerome Lynch, KC, on the need for an ex-gratia payment to the families without admission of liability. He also described the tragedy as preventable, as he said it was “atrocious, heartbreaking, and unforgivable.”

Highlighting the financial struggles of the victims’ families, including the challenges faced by Fyzal Kurban’s daughter in covering her education expenses in Canada, Ramadhar stressed the community’s support, citing a fundraising effort to aid the children of one of the divers.

“We see the cost of the Commission of Enquiry. We see legal fees paid $21 million and not a cent for the families. How can we say we are not going to look after these children,” Ramadhar questioned.

On Wednesday, Commission Chairman Jerome Lynch, KC, said the final approximate cost of the CoE was $15.5 million.

Since the completion of the Commission of Enquiry, there has been a public outcry for the report to be made public.
Concerns have been raised as to why the families of the victims had not received a cent of compensation from Paria Fuel Trading Company or Land and Marine Construction Services Ltd (LMCS) Ltd.

On February 25 four divers, Fyzal Kurban, Kazim Ali Jr, Rishi Nagassar and Yusuf Henry died after disappearing into a 30-inch pipeline belonging to Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd during an underwater maintenance exercise. A fifth diver Christopher Boodram survived. LMCS company had hired the divers to execute maintenance works on Sealine 36 situated between Berth 5 and 6 when the tragedy occurred.

https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/pm-has- ... bc11331d36

[Chimera]

Wha madness this is

Tax payers money spend for that report. Why d firetruck is up yo rowley on why it be made public.

Somebody better leak that eh

[maj. tom]

That's tradition in Trinidad. Hide all the enquiries and reports from the public, or never have one (1990 Coup). The Scott Drug Report from 1986 was never officially released. The power outage report from last year never released. Yet the taxpayers funding it all.

[MaxPower]

That's tradition in Trinidad. Hide all the enquiries and reports from the public, or never have one (1990 Coup). The Scott Drug Report from 1986 was never officially released. The power outage report from last year never released. Yet the taxpayers funding it all.

X3000.

It’s the Trini culture.

I blame the citizens.