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LMCS owner Kazim Ali Snr says the families of the four men who died in the Paria diving tragedy and the lone survivor should accept government's offer of $1 million ex-gratia payment. This despite his belief the offer is a political ploy.

Four of Ali's employees, including his only son, died after being trapped in an undersea oil pipeline at Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd in Pointe-a-Pierre in 2022. The four – Kazim Ali Jnr, Fyzal Kurban, Rishi Nagassar and Yusuf Henry – along with their co-worker Christopher Boodram were sucked into the pipeline while doing repair works. Only Boodram survived.

On March 3, Prime Minister Stuart Young, at a post Cabinet press conference, announced the government would compensate the families and the lone survivor. He did not specify when the payment would be made.