On Friday feb 26th, five divers employed with LMCS Limited were conducting underwater testing of a flange on a pipeline located at the no 36 Sealine riser on Berth no 6 at the state owned Paria Fuel Trading Co Ltd facility (formerly Petrotrin) when the equipment they were working on imploded.
The Below Video Gives an Excellent Summary on What Occurred
The divers were in an LMCS owned hyperbaric chamber which was inserted over the pipeline when an incident occurred. The hyperbaric chamber was used to suck air out of the pipeline so as to create a space for the workers to work inside the oil pipeline.
They entered the chamber at 2:15pm on Friday to continue testing of previously done work to repair a leak.
Something went wrong around 2:45pm and there was an implosion and the 5 divers were sucked inside the 30 inch oil pipeline
All of the divers were alive and communicating with each other inside the pipe but Rishi Nagassar was unconscious. Even though they did not have proper SCUBA equiptment they were able to communicate with each other while in an air pocket.
Christopher Boodram was the rescue diver of the team, hence why he had on his tanks, and may have been more prepared for an emergency. He proceeded to drag the members along the pipe.
At some point the team reached another air pocket
Trinidad's Uvalde?
Michael Kurban after rescusing Christopher Boodram entered the pipeline multiple times to try to rescue his father. He was only able to retrieve some diving equiptment. The rescue operastions was halted under gunpoint by Trinidad and Tobago Coast guard
Colin Piper the site manager ordered divers not to proceed with the rescue.
Minister of Energy Does a Press Conference.
What Caused This Accident
Imagine you sucking on one end of a straw. Instead we are talking about massive 30 inch pipes. There should have been a pressure release mechanism on the other end of the pipe maybe this was not operational and that caused a suction buildup. The massive vacuum created sucked the divers into the riser at Berth 6. A phenomenon called differential pressure (Delta P)
The bodies of Kazim Ali Jr, Yusuf Henry and Fyzal Kurban were found on Monday 29th, and taken to the Forensic Science Centre where they were identified by relatives.
Rishi Nagassar's body was recovered on 12:36am March 3rd
A 12-minute long video, believed to have been captured inside the 30-inch diameter pipeline in which four divers disappeared and died at Paria Fuel’s Berth No 6
An oxygen tank and other material are found at 80 feet and another oxygen tank and other equipment are seen at 87 feet. It could not go past 87 feet and throughout the video, none of the divers was seen.
Then it proceeded along the pipeline which runs on the seabed. At 67 feet, it encountered diving paraphernalia. More paraphernalia is found at 71 feet.
Vishnu Ramjattan, a former Petrotrin superintendent who worked at Berths No 5 and 6 and knows the pipelines inside out, said two things could have caused a vortex. He said extreme backwash from a passing vessel or the removal of an expansion plug near the hyperbaric chamber constructed to provide a ready air supply could have caused the situation
"No effort was spared in the attempts to treat the bodies with the utmost respect during the recovery operation,"
Recovery of Bodies
A pig was used to recover the bodies.
“Pigging” is a process in which highly viscous fluids are conveyed out of pipelines. The pig is a cleaning device that is pumped through the pipeline under pressure. Thus, contaminations are conveyed out of the piping
Callous Disrespect of Human Life.
Timeline of Events
- At 2.15 p.m the divers went into the hyperbaric chamber
- 2.45 p.m. persons on barge lost contact with the divers in the hyperbaric chamber
- 3:48 pm One hour and three minutes after, it was concluded by an HSE personnel that chances of survival are slim.
- 5:00 pm Christopher Boodram seperated with Fysal. He promised he would come back
- At 5.45 p.m. Colin Piper (Paria manager) informed them that one person was rescued.
- 6:15pm Michael Kurban after rescuing Christopher and getting proper gear, entered tube to find his father.
- 6:45pm Michael resurfaced and said he found the tanks and gear but could not locate his father. He was prevented from attempting a second rescue at gun point by the Trinidad and Tobago coast guard
Suspend the Board of Paria
4 dead bodies in an oil pipe stops the means of production, so no haste was spared to resume pumping operations.
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