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Christopher Boodram, the lone survivor of the 2022 Paria diving tragedy, has condemned the millions of dollars in legal fees paid to attorneys involved in the commission of enquiry, calling it “a feeding frenzy at our expense.”

In a statement on October 21, Boodram said he was “disgusted” to learn that the former PNM administration paid large sums to commissioners and lawyers, while families of the four deceased divers have yet to receive compensation. “I feel as though legal vultures swooped down to feed and pick at the corpses of my brothers who died in that pipeline,” Boodram said.

He described the commission of enquiry, which cost $15.5 million, as a “political excuse” and said none of the Lynch Report recommendations have been implemented. Boodram added that the matter’s referral to the Director of Public Prosecutions has resulted in “deafening silence,” with no progress on possible corporate manslaughter charges.