In an appalling incident off the coast of Trinidad, four divers tragically died whilst performing maintenance on an underwater pipeline. The team of five was working on the Paria Pipeline, crucial for refuelling seaborne vessels, when a sudden accident led them to be drawn into the 30-inch diameter pipe.

The disaster claimed the lives of Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry, Kazim Ali Jr, and Rishi Nagassar; Christopher Boodram narrowly survived the horrific ordeal taking place just off the island's shore. Working within a hyperbaric chamber designed to prevent decompression sickness, they faced an unexpected pressure imbalance with dire results.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Boodram's miraculous escape involved navigating through oil-laden water to reach a pipeline curve, where he was eventually pulled to safety by Kurban’s son after enduring a three-hour entrapment – a harrowing detail revealed by Lad Bible.

Forlorn hopes for the survival of the other four men were extinguished as their remains were ensnared for two agonising days before retrieval, following delays in rescue efforts.

In light of the catastrophic event in 2022, an inquiry has urged legal action against the operator of the pipeline, the state-run Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited, for gross negligence and corporate manslaughter, reports <a href="https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/horrifying-deaths-divers-sucked-30-35292846" rel="Follow" target="_self">the Irish Star</a>.

In his harrowing account, survivor Boodram says: "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. Inside there was not just a crawl through a pipe like how plenty of people might be thinking.

"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."

Boodram recalled that it was his fellow colleagues who pointed him in the right direction to escape, asserting he wouldn't have survived otherwise.

Divemagazine covered the 380-page report from the commission of Enquiry, costing £12.4 million, which concluded Paria's failure to provide a duty of care to the divers.

SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy

The document blamed the company for the catastrophe, noting a 'point-blank refusal' to conduct a rescue effort for the (alive and injured) trapped divers.

While the inquiry was ongoing, Paria's terminal operations manager, Collin Piper, stood by the call to prevent further loss of life.

"All realistic options should have been considered," stated the report. "Even if the camera revealed that which they sought, no plan to carry out a rescue had been formulated. No effort was made to consult the nation's premier experts in commercial diving who had come to the scene."