DIVERS are searching for  Pete Phillip of Well Services Petroleum Co Ltd, who was the only person unaccounted for after calamity struck on Rig 110, around 3.09 am on December 22.

The rig, which is owned and operated by Well Services Petroleum Co Ltd, partially collapsed into the sea, in the Heritage Offshore East Field, off the southwestern peninsula, sending workers on board in panic mode.

Apart from Phillip, one other employee was injured in the incident. He was reportedly in stable condition.

A statement issued by Well Services said there were 75 workers on the rig at the time of the incident. Drilling was taking place.

“The incident resulted in one injury with the injured individual currently in stable condition and receiving medical care. All other personnel have been safely evacuated from the rig.”

Well Services said it is in contact with the family of the missing worker and “providing all necessary support and assistance in this period of uncertainty.”

The company did not give names or any other information about the workers who were missing and injured.

The missing worker was subsequently identified as Phillip, 47.

Praying for a miracle

When Newsday visited Phillip’s home at George Street, La Romaine, relatives were distraught.

Phillip and his wife Kandasie have four children. He  was expected to complete his shift offshore in time to be home for Christmas Day.

[caption id="attachment_1128210" align="alignnone" width="956"] Missing Well Services employee Pete Phillip. -[/caption]

Kandasie said, “This morning, his sister and brother were here and some friends and they said that he is missing. He’s the only one they can’t find.”

Asked if anyone had updated her about the situation, she said, “They said the Coast Guard is searching.”

She said her children had been asking about their father for the entire day.

Despite the length of time he has been missing, she is praying for a miracle.

Another relative wanted an investigation into the incident and claimed there were similarities with the 2022 Paria diving tragedy, which claimed the lives of four men.

Videos of the rig that were posted on social media through unofficial sources showed the derrick of the rig in the water and the rig tilting. The videos were taken before and after dawn from vessels in the area.

In one video that was taken before dawn, on board a vessel which appeared to be operated by Well Services, a man was heard saying, “This is what happen with we here. The derrick came down on we. Everybody in the water. Lord Father, Jesus Christ!”

Another person is heard telling others to put their ID cards in bags for safekeeping.

On its Facebook page on Sunday, the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Pointe-a-Pierre branch said, “Hearing the missing person is trapped but alive. Prayers go out for his safe rescue.”

However, Well Services denied this and said such reports were false.

The rig was formerly owned by Trinmar, the marine subsidiary of the now-defunct state oil company Petrotrin.

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