KEVON FELMINE
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
After pulling, pushing, dragging and crawling through a 30-inch diameter pipeline with an injured arm, Christopher Boodram reached the end of that line but almost gave up, thinking he saw the angel of death.
Boodram was traumatised and fatigued. His muscles were bruised and his eyes burnt from being inside the pipeline, which was filled with oil and water.
But what he thought was death turned out to be a lifeline, as it was his dive mentor Ronald Ramoutar. Ramoutar got help from Corey Crawford to rescue Boodram from the deadly line at Paria Fuel Trading Company’s offshore facility.
The brave and heart-breaking testimony was shared by Boodram at the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into the LMCS/Paria Diving Tragedy at the International Financial Complex in Port-of-Spain yesterday.
The incident claimed the lives of his colleagues, Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry, Kazim Ali Jr and Rishi Nagassar.
The LMCS employees were repairing a defective portion of Paria Fuel’s Sealine 36’s riser off the Port of Pointe-a-Pierre on February 25 when the deadly accident happened.
Shortly after lunch on that day, a Differential Pressure (Delta P) incident occurred as the divers removed an inflatable plug, causing a vortex that sucked the men into the pipeline.
Yesterday before the commissioners, Boodram wept as he recalled the horror he, Kurban, Ali Jr and Henry faced as they met up in the dark and cramped line.
He had to take several breaks to complete his testimony.
Under examination by CoE counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, Boodram recalled reaching to work early for a toolbox meeting about the work ahead on the riser.
He said they discussed the job, its stages and potential hazards, but Delta P was not one of the issues raised. He recalled being in the habitat with Kurban, Henry and Nagassar, while Ali Jr was standing by on a barge.
The crew removed a blank flange, and then Kurban instructed Boodram to see if another team had finished carber testing the line. However, he said there was a deformity in the pipe and the seals could not fit. Boodram said he and the others took lunch while Paria and LMCS discussed the issue.
Following lunch, Ali Jr informed the crew that there was clearance to continue without the test. They removed the mechanical plug, and as they deflated the inflatable plug, Ali Jr entered with a spanner, and Boodram saw water rising in the chamber.
“Allyuh, what going on? Look, this thing is filling up. Let we get out of here,” Boodram said he told his colleagues.
He recalled being caught in a tornado-like event, hitting the walls of the pipeline, feeling debris and holding his breath until his lungs were in pain.
I prepared for Heaven
Suddenly, Boodram said he was out of the water. However, he admitted to not knowing if he was alive or dead, or in heaven or hell.
“At that point, I told myself that I would die. I said to God I am coming. Ma, look out for me. I was expecting to be dead,” he told the CoE.
He said he heard Ali Jr call out to him and thought his colleagues were outside the pipe. He quickly learned, however, that the entire crew was there.
Not knowing what direction he was in, he crawled backwards to Ali Jr and the others.
He said Kurban was groaning in pain and Henry had a broken leg. Boodram himself had injured his left arm. Henry told the others that he had crawled over Nagassar further down the pipe.
“We going and dead,” Boodram said was the cry of despair from Ali Jr, but Boodram said he tried to motivate them to push ahead to get out of the line.
At first, Boodram said he was unsure of what direction to go in. He said it was his colleagues who directed him on the right path that saved his life. He said the men held onto each other, dragging themselves across the horizontal section of the pipeline running along the seafloor.
“Mind you all, in there was like an unbelievable nightmare. Your eyes are burning. Every time you try to open your eyes, it burns. It is pitch black; you cannot see anything. Your throat is burning. Your ears are ringing, and your body is sore,” Boodram said.
“Inside there was not just a crawl through a pipe like how plenty of people might be thinking.”
As they dragged across the pipe with eight-10 inches of water, Boodram said he found Ali’s GoPro camera and contemplated leaving a goodbye message for his family but decided against it.
Instead, they prayed for a rescue. But as the men moved closer to the vertical line, the water level increased, so Boodram scouted forward, leaving the others behind.
“Small Kaz (Ali Jr) was holding me. I said I am not coming out the pipe without you all. I would never leave you all.”
However, Boodram soon realised the gravity of the way back to life. He travelled approximately 15 feet and found a scuba tank. He realised then he would have to reach the surface and get help for the others. He said he was sure there were already other divers in the pipe searching. He said he made his way through flooded sections of the pipeline, finding two more scuba tanks before reaching the opening in the habitat. Kurban attempted to follow but never made it.
Poor treatment at hospital
As Boodram floated into the pipe, he grabbed onto a chain above but could not pull himself out. He screamed, bawled and cried for help as he knocked the pipeline with the chain. He then heard someone knock. After back and forth knocking, Boodram said Ramoutar entered the chamber.
“I started seeing a little light in the habitat. I swear to God it was the angel of death coming for me. I told myself that this was the light that people talk about.”
Ramoutar could not reach Boodram and needed to get help, but Crawford soon entered the chamber. Boodram told them the rest of the divers were in the pipeline, and the men said they were waiting for more equipment and backup.
Boodram recalled that he pleaded with several people to rescue the divers before an ambulance took him to the San Fernando General Hospital.
He was also critical of the treatment he received, saying that neither LMCS nor Paria considered he could develop decompression sickness. He said the hospital was also unprepared for his situation, as he spent three of six days there with oil still on his body. He said they also placed him in a room with a COVID-19 patient, who eventually died.
