SHARLENE RAMPERSAD
Ahmad Ali, the HSSE manager for LMCS Limited, says when he arrived on Berth 6 on February 25, he saw no one preventing any rescue attempts.
Ahmad, who is the nephew of LMCS owner Kazim Ali Senior, is testifying before the Commission of Enquiry set up to investigate the deadly accident.
Ahmad’s cousin, Kazim Ali Jnr and three of his colleagues, Fyzal Kurban, Rishi Nagassar and Yusuf Henry lost their lives in the accident.
The lone survivor, Christopher Boodram, has already testified before the Enquiry and has been attending the hearings since.
On Tuesday morning, Ahmad was asked by Paria’s attorney at the Enquiry senior counsel Gilbert Peterson about his witness statements to Commission before the hearings started.
Peterson asked Ahmad about what he saw when he got to Berth 6 around 7 pm on February 25th.
Ahmad had previously said he did not see anyone diving when he arrived nor did he see anyone preventing anyone from diving.
He confirmed those statements were true on Tuesday when asked by Peterson.
But Ahmad said LMCS divers were instructed not to dive to rescue the four trapped divers.
“The response we got from Paria consistently was that no one was to enter the chamber and no one was to dive,” Ahmad said.