Four professional divers die sucked into oil pipeline

Four professional divers were killed in Trinidad while welding an oil pipeline.

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The accident took place last Friday, 25 February, at around 15:00. professional diverswho were welding on an oil pipeline were sucked into it. Unfortunately, four of the men died. The local media and relatives of the victims have accused the oil company and the emergency services of being dilatory in their rescue efforts.

Accident involving professional divers

The underwater welders were at a depth of 18m, where they were installing a cable on a pipe running about 400m from shore. According to reports, the divers were already finishing their work when a safety valve opened and caused a strong vacuum. As a result, the men were sucked in and trapped inside the pipe.

The underwater welders were all working for LMCS, which was a subcontractor for Paria Fuel Trading Co Ltd. Their task was to carry out routine pipeline maintenance work in Paria Bay, near the town of Pointe-a-Pierre in Trinidad. The surrounding island is home to the largest oil refinery in the region.

Among the fatalities are four underwater welders Kazim Ali Jr, Fyzal Kurban, Yuseph Henry and Rishi Nagassar. On the other hand, the fifth professional diver, Christopher Boodram, was miraculously rescued. He is battered but was taken to a hyperbaric chamber in a stable condition. The rescued man said that after being sucked into the tube he saw the other divers in an air pocket. One of them was seriously injured and unable to move.

Sole survivor

Boodram owes his life to Michael, who is the son of Fyzal Kurban – leader of the LMCS professional diving team. He himself is also a diver and was working on a boat near the accident site when the incident occurred. When he heard the distress call over the radio, he immediately rushed to the scene.

Unfortunately, no one at the site was conducting an underwater search, so Kurban jr. took the initiative. He called for help from his relatives, who also work as professional divers, and then went underwater. Diving with an umbilical, he went 15m deep into a pipeline filled with oil. It was then that he found Boodram and pulled him to the surface.

Both men heard sounds coming from further down the pipeline. However, when Michael Kurban returned to search for his father, he found only diving equipment. He was also unable to go deeper as he was restricted by the umbilical. He and his team intended to continue the search but, he says, they were not allowed to do so due to a breach of health and safety protocols.

At this point, the bodies of three of the four missing divers have been brought to the surface.

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