ATTORNEYS for surviving LMCS diver Christopher Boodram and Vanessa Kussie, the widow of his colleague Rishi Nagassar, have written to the CEO of Paria Fuel Trading Company demanding information about the tragedy in which four men died at its Pointe-a-Pierre facility on February 25.
On February 25, five divers, all employees of LMCS of Tarouba Road, Marabella, were working on a pipeline on Berth 6 when they were sucked into it.
Boodram was the sole survivor. Those who died were Nagassar, Kazim Jeremiah Ali, Yusuf Henry, and Fyzal Kurban. The first three bodies were recovered around 6 pm on February 28, and Nagassar’s body was found at 12.35 am on March 3.
Autopsies on the bodies of Henry and Kurban, at the Forensic Science Centre, showed they drowned. The findings of further autopsies by Dr Hubert Daisley have not been made public so far.
On Tuesday, attorney Che Dindial, of Freedom House Chambers, led by Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan, wrote to Paria’s CEO with a freedom of information request for a list of documents and other material, “given the unhelpful attitude of Paria.”
The attorneys also want to know if Paria will pay Boodram’s medical expenses and for the advice of independent experts.
The attorneys for the two asked for 23 items, in total, relating to camera footage of inside the pipeline which was shared on social media; the contract between LMCS and Paria; the permit for the job; footage from the Go-Pro camera belonging to one of the divers; the names of those who prohibited the divers’ rescue; footage from the hyperbaric chamber from the time the divers entered it; and everyone who was present at Berths 5 and 6 from the time the incident happened on February 25 until the bodies of the four divers were recovered.
In the letter, Dindial said the traumatic ordeal of “this life-threatening experience” has left Boodram and Kussie “in a state of unimaginable grief and distress.”
“Mr Boodram has lost four colleagues, with whom he shared an extremely close bond. Indeed, they were personal friends and in some cases, lived like brothers.
“We have been instructed to convey our clients’ continuing dismay, shock and disappointment over the conduct of Paria throughout this terrifying ordeal, and more importantly, in the aftermath of same,” the attorney said.
He also said Boodram was in “dire need of medical attention that he cannot afford.
“Naturally, he prefers to remain with his present doctors and does not wish for Paria to handpick his doctors for him.
“In this vein, we reject any suggestion/proposal by Paria that it will only assist if he allows the company to dictate which doctor he should seek medical attention from.”
The attorney asked if Paria would be prepared to pay Boodram’s expenses, pointing out that the company said it would be willing to pay for such services.
“We expect a favourable response as it would be highly unreasonable for Paria to say that it is only willing to pay for his medical expenses if it can select his doctors for him.”
Dindial also served notice that B
