The Paria Incident | Chapter 1 of 2

0:03 I I thought it. An unbelievable nightmaent your eyes burning every time I tried to open your eyes. A burning. Out. Tapes from the Dark Side contains descriptions of violence and sexuality. Listener discretion is advised.

0:47 During routine maintenance on a submerged oil pipeline, a team of five experienced divers encountered a catastrophic event. An unforeseen error during their work triggered a powerful suction effect commonly referred to as delta p within the pipeline, rapidly pulling all five divers into its depths. While the situation was dire, the possibility of rescue remained. However, a series of missteps during the subsequent rescue operation meant that no genuine attempt to save the trapp divers was ever made. In the aftermath of the tragedy, a series of accusations of prioritization of cost cutting over human life were made. Four of the five divers tragically lost their lives. Only one diver, against all odds, managed to survive the ordeal and escape the pipeline's deadly grasped. His name is Christopher Boudram, and this is his story.

1:58 I think everyone had a bit of a fascination with the dark side. I myself Wilways love the dark side as well. I think it's something that everyone secretly longs for in walks. But then our second it was like, I just remember going oo, literally pipe an unbelievable speed. The dark Side, the dark side of the dark Side.

2:43 The Pariah diving disaster occurred on February twenty fifth, twenty twenty two, around three pm, when five divers were conducting repairs on an oil pipeline owned by the Pariah Fuel Trading Company near point A Pier in Trinidad. Trinidad is an island that can be found off the north coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea, and Point A Pier is known for being the site of the country's largest state run oil company. The divers in the pipeline that day were unaware of a dangerous differential pressure situation often referred to as delta p that had been created when the pipe was cleared of oil almost a month earlier.

3:27 As four of the divers worked to remove an inflatable plug from the pipeline, the differential pressure caused a vortex that immediately sucked them into the pipe. The immense force of the suction made it impossible for them to resist. They were sucked down fifteen meters before hitting a sharp right angle at full force. The impact is likely what crush some of the diver's bones, and then they were dragged two hundred meters Laterally, for my fellow Americans, that's about two football fields or two soccer fields, going at the speed of about two meters per second, dragged through oil in the dark on a bed of hard metal pipe.

4:08 One of the divers, Christopher Budrum, miraculously managed to escape by crawling through the pipeline for three grueling hours until he finally reached safety. Sadly, the four other divers were unable to escape and lost their lives inside the pipeline. Their names were Kasim Ali Junior thirty six years old, who will be referred to as Kaz in the story, Yusef Henry thirty one years old, known as yuz Faisal Kurban unknown age known as Phizi or Phiz, and Rishi Nagasar forty eight years old. A GoPro camera was recovered from one of the deceased divers, and it provided a harrowing account of the tragedy. The audio recording captured the voices of all five men as they were suddenly pulled into the pipeline. They can later be heard praying, comforting each other, and express icing their fears and desperations as they realized the gravity of their situation. The following is real unedited footage from that go pro camera.

5:34 Yeah, I don't know. The Pariah Fuel Trading Company was a state owned company responsible for the pipeline, and they faced severe critics for their handling of the rescue efforts. Perile was criticized for having no existing rescue plan, yet they asserted that they held quote no legal responsibility to rescue the men. This stance, coupled with reports that Pariah had actively blocked external rescue attempts, sparked public outrage and intensified scrutiny of the company's actions. Finally, a commission of inquiry was launched to try to find out exactly what happened on that day on the barge, and it is through this commission that we now have access to the testimony of Christopher Boudram, the one surviving member of the team. I want to play for you Christopher's testimony, but first I have to make a disclaimer of sorts. Sometimes this audio is hard to understand, and sometimes even when you can understand it, Christopher's heavy Caribbean accent makes it hard to understand exactly what he's saying.

6:55 At other times, I think his statements are quite clear, and so I'm I'm going to try to find a middle ground while we listen to this testimony. I want to explain his words when it seems like he cannot be understood clearly, but I also don't want to go overboard and explain every single word that he says. So, like I said, I'm going to try to find a middle balance here. Please excuse me if at times I get it wrong, but I'm going to try my best to explain what needs to be explained without overdoing it. And now let's go to the courtroom and Christopher Budram's testimony. I am to be sworn in. Yes, peace, Yes, I say.

7:36 Christophologio suddenly solomly sway, so that the evidence that the evidence. I shall give to the corpse, I shall give in this case. Christopher Boudrum is finished being sworn in, and the Head of Commission, Jerome Lynch assures Christopher telling him that if he needs to take a break, simply speak up and let them know and they'll be happy to pause momentarily. Mister Bram, please feel free to sit down. We are all very conscious here in this room, very big room with a lot of people, and obviously you're the focus of attention today. We're conscious to the fact that this is not going to be easy for you, all right, So you take your time if at any stage you want to have a break, just want you just just tell me, all right, and we will have a break.

8:24 So you take your time and you tell your story, answer the questions from mister Maharaj over there, all right, and you just take your time. Right, Okay, mister Bram, you are underwater diver. We'll be right back after a quick break. If you want to skip the ads and support the show, go to patreon dot com slash Tapes from the dark Side. Okay, mister Budram, you are a un water diver. Yeah, and for how long have you been an underwater diver?

9:08 Approximately twelve years. Proximately twelve years. On the twenty fifth of February twenty twenty two, you were employed with LMCS Limited. Yeah, and you were employed. As a diver. Yeah, on that date. Could you tell us what happened. Rechiever Cooly, because we have requested to. Reach Avera Cooly and you attended a meeting on that morning I believe. So we had a little Can I try to recall you had a toolbox meeting that day about the ti ive.

9:52 Yeah, I was want to reach any badge. I was going to go on the badge on the job site. So you you enter the toolbox meeting that day, and that was in respect of a job that had to be done. Yeah, so we we had the toolbox meeting concerning. Yes, raise a job that we wasn't that in question. So they had a toolbox meeting about the riser in question. From what I gathered, a toolbox meeting as a kind of brief safety meeting before the day's work. The safety officer also talked to us a little safety briefing, you know, the hazards of the job and whatnot.

10:39 Okay, let specie if I could. And the job was to change. A riser, so yeah, what you had to do we had to we actually the job that day was actually little. It was in stages before putting in the riser. We had to on board the blank, right, we had to tako the We had to tako the mechanical plug all right, akba tests and after the CAABA test was cleared or fast or however, I don't want to do it, then we proceed thick ody, plug the inflatable plug and install the as this this is a this is the steps in hodetulas we had to do it.

11:29 Let's do a quick review. The job was in stages. So before putting in the riser, they had to unbolt the blank which is basically a cap or a top that is extremely heavy, maybe one hundred and fifty pounds. Then they have to do a KABA test, and then after the Kabba test was passed, they would take out the inflatable plug and then install the riser. I wonder, can you just tell me. We know that there was a habitat or a chamber over the top of this rise, yes, and you and your work colleagues were working inside that chamber, all right, and the first thing you had to do on that day, from what you said, is to remove the blank plug.

12:13 Is that right? Yeah? Not plug the blank yeah, yes, that's like a cap top, right, Yeah, So that was the first thing you had to do. Was it. The blank is not like something that they could just lift off. You know, the blanket by itself is maybe about one hundred and fifty pounds. Because they're talking about that titty inch diameter pipe, you know, with half inch stick sheet plate. Whether we used to make the blanket so that by itself is not easy to a little. Cup chain blocks, chain blocks or something like our annual Greene fait. To be done. See if you need more than two men, because they actually need two men to guide the the flanks. He's supposed to know while one man of already chain block and the next man who overviewed that nobody don't put a hand in any pinch areas.

13:06 To remove the one hundred and fifty pounds blank required hooking up chain blocks with a manual crane with three men. One man would guide the flange down, one man would operate the chain block, and one man would make sure that no one had their hands in the pinch area. This is not the first time we do this job. We never in contact. No hazards on this job as sorry, no, you never get into any complications because all I'll be competent and know what we're doing. Forget about what Let me think about the type of equipment or the the the suits. I've been doing this for years, all. Right, mister Maart is going to pick up the secrets of events. Yeah, it's quite important that we have the secrets of events.

13:51 So after removing the blank what is the next thing that we all did? After remove any blanc, we we had to remove the mechanical plug. We have to use a span a. No normal pipe wrench or crescento spankle wok because you can't find space inside the pipe pipe. Next they remove the mechanical plug with a spanner. A spanner is essentially a kind of specialized pipe ranch. So we meet a a tool with a socket extension on it and a cross piece on top of something resemble a capital T. Sluck a the the bulls. The mechanical plug does work that when you tightened the bulls in series around its expand and how the inside of the the diameteric pipe and.

14:49 Cause a seal. Right, but in order to remove it, you you. Have to slacking out all those bulls. Lock on it, okay, right, take it out, jack it up with the chain block, bring it outside right after taking that out. We we didn't drop it three sea bed. We went and shackle it up on the outside of the the habitat. So you came back and what happened after going out. They would loosen all the bolts on the plug and then jack it up with the chain block, and then they shackled it on the outside of the habitat. The habitat is essentially the small enclosure they're in to access the entrance to the pipe, and then they would have one last task before launch, the Kaba test dexter.

15:43 If they finished test was done at the same time I saw the booth. MC has had some discussions on whether or not they should go for it. However, they said, tell us take lunch. We took lunch from them. Okay, we'll be right back after a quick commercial break. Don't go anywhere. Before we dive into the heart of this story. There's a term that we should probably define. We've already mentioned it a couple of times. And to understand exactly what happened to Christopher and his friends when they remove the inflatable plug in the pipeline, we need some kind of working knowledge of delta P. Delta P which is denoted with a triangle symbol in front of a capital. P stands for differential pressure, which is the difference in pressure between two points in a system and is commonly used to measure pressure drops across components like filters or pipes.

16:52 Differential pressure is typically measured using pressure sensors or transducers that are connected to two points of interest within the system. This can be expressed in units of pressure such as pascals, pounds per square inch, or bar, and these sensors can be analog or digital and may use various types of technology. But the thing to note is that in the Paria tragedy there were no delta P pressure sensors that we know of. Monitoring and controlling differential pressure is crucial in industrial and engineering applications because by understanding pressure drop across various components, engineers can optimize system design and also made safety.

17:36 I found this neat little safety video on delta P on YouTube that I think explains the concepts Sincly. Delta P stands for differential pressure. Our discussion refers to situations where the pressures between two bodies of water are dramatically different. In a situation like this, the bodies of water continuously seek to equal themselves. In this example, the body of water on the right wants to rush to the body of water on the left by means of the pipe between them. The pressure exerted on the valve stopping this water transfer can be enormous, depending on the difference in the depths of the water and the diameter of the pipe. If the valve was suddenly opened and your arm was near, it would be sucked into the hole instantly. Trying to remove your arm would be like trying to lift a car completely off the ground with one hand. You could only remove your arm if the pressures between the two bodies became nearly equalized.

18:40 Let's now return to the courtroom with this newly found knowledge to Christopher Budram's testimony will pick up right after the crew got back from lunch. I want you to take a time and tell us as far as you remember when you came up from lunch what happened. Went in gabitat as we went in, we had then deflat the inflatable plug. All right, that fast spaner because apparently the believer was. Jammed or something like that. That the gun just release the the air. So they asked for a spanner because apparently the lever was jammed and they couldn't just release the air. This is when they were deflating the inflatable plug.

19:31 At the same time, Casmi Jr. Came in and we tell him we needed a spanner. He went out collect the spaner, bring it back in, gave me this spaner and as he came back in and I, after I do that, and I turned around. After I turn around, I saw what any in the in the chamber satirized, and I say, like, going on, you like this thing falling up there? And I jump and I jump. Yeah, I feel like in seta sinking in water. I feel like I was fluting.

20:13 This is the moment we've been anticipating. After loosening the inflatable plug with the spanner, the delta pe event occurs in a flash. Christopher remembers water rushing in jumping, and then the sensation of falling as he and his four diving friends were violently sucked down into a cold, black oily pipe. And this exact moment of the delta pe event occurring was caught on camera on the GoPro which I will now play.

21:03 Mm hmm and like it had no gravity, you know, I feel like and then after but then I second it was like Tony, everything just spinning and beating it up and tappened so fast it can't react. The onlyest thing I remember able to do was cover my head like any fatal position. After that, all I remember. I didn't even remember actually getting poor lean pipe. I just remember going literally pipe at unbelievable speed. M I feel like if I even I can't now one twenty on the.

22:14 Iway, I feel like, if you're. Going to that kind of speed every time I try. After I realize that any pipe and I go into the pipe every time I try to just stop myself jam. An the walls that the pipe out. I feel my hands burning, toot the wet so while going down here, I feel a little debris hitting here and you kind of stop and that kind of slow down and I was able to stop myself at this time, I can't hold my breath no longer. My truth when in their birth and will en their birth for too long.

22:54 After a while, your body along the fight. They try the guy and when you forced and yeah, we exclose as your noise. Actually that's why I was seeing M your buddy's suffering the A. That last part was a little hard to understand, so I want to try to clear it up. He said, when you're holding your breath for too long. After a while, your body fights to try to gasp of breath. And when you're forcing and your airway is closing, you hear a noise. That is what I was hearing. Your body is suffering to pull air.

24:04 We'll be right back after a quick break. If you want to skip the ads and support the show, go to patreon dot com slash tapes from the Dark Side. And at that point, I tell myself I was gonna dead. I tell my I see God, I come in, MA. Look over me. I was expecting to be dead there and all of a sudden, I just out you water and get up bread. Wasn't a set that panic realizing that, all right, Danny Pipe, I just known aally dead. I'm not sure if you're alive.

25:00 I ain't sure where is the fine hell? I fine heaven a pipe? And then I would I believe it was casually calling out to me as the first person I are calling, and I assumed he was outside the pipe and calling me, I think, and that I falled long the. Pipe, Yeah, but who's that? But yeah, well who's that? By incidy pipe, inciey pipe? By yeah bye yeah, by insidey pipe too. Yeah. I can't come up.

25:54 After going to Survival Moody and now I still living because I ain't somebody talking unless he did too. I had to find out, and I start going to the voice close and close. I still didn't actually make out who it was until I reach on him. And I reach on him, I touched him on foot, touch him because I was going backwards, because I guess sockting the pipe. And in my. Head I thought that I guess opting head first because I tried jumping out foot first. So the pipe up here, right. And if I jump here and I end up an the pipe, so I thought I guess opting head first.

26:35 So Christopher thought he had been sucked in head first because he thought he jumped in the air and that the suction had grabbed him by the head. I tell myself that if I get socked in head first, well foot first is the way out, you know. And cousin Ali and whoever whoever else was that there was close at the riser and it was like right here right because I how it's sunging, you know. So when I reached a cross now. And i'll something so I'll pull it back. So because I wasn asked it that right? I said, who's that?

27:15 What? He said? What me? By? Me? By said me you were? He said, because said because you all right? Y yeah, m h yeah, right, all. Right, you're right. I mean. You know what. You said? Answer, so who is that what you said? Me? By? Christ but said you said you all right? By? No?

27:59 Why my foot break? But I I feel my footbrik to what we gotta go? That is. That is Chris? Hears a voice saying it's Yusef, and Chris asks, are you all right boy? Yusuf says, no way, brother, my foot broke, and Chris says, all right, brother boy, I feel my hand in foot break too. But we're gonna come together and get out of this. It was difficult to find an exact match, but I believe this part of the conversation happens roughly at this part of the go pro footage.

28:58 Yeah, I don't know, I. Yeah, boiling any gron, I said who is that? Now? Who is that? Bost I said, who is that? He said, I said, phy phyzy see yeah, yeah, I say, all right, say yeah, is. Anything wrong with you? Say no, So what you're boiling for? I do know?

29:38 I said, all right, what's movie to get with? That is what is good you're gonna come with? That is let me pray. Keep in mind that Phizy is file Curban. Chris refers to him as both Phizy and Fiz throughout, and then Chris says, God is good. We're gonna come out of this. And then the men do perhaps the only thing they can do at the moment, and that is pray. Pray O cosm, O cosm.

30:22 We could come out A yea, what we could do? What I think? What we could do? What we could do? Think Chasm, how can we get out of here? What can we do? We said that. Chasm replies We're gonna die, and Chris says, no, don't say that. No going dead any we come, No going any We're coming out. So yeah, we went on. We can't we can't stand with. We gotta go and come back. We could move, let me move. We can't stay and wait for help. We have to go and come back. Who Ever can move, will move. Surf ice you push yusef yusef you push cas and.

31:07 I go pull. No before that, I say, I think we have to go backward. So because I think I come in foot first, cousin said, no, we come in head first. No, we come in foot I think we come in head first. Cousin said, no, we come in foot first. I said, no, we can't come in foot first. You say yes, yousef say yes. By Chris By, are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure we come in foot first? Chris He said yeah. I said, well, all right, well we're done in this. I can't fight all if we added that, we added it. Let you go a a good one. Let's see, there's a bit of a prolonged disagreement about which way the men came in. Chris is convinced that they all came in headfirst, which would mean to get out they would have to go foot first. But the other men are convinced that it's the opposite, and they outnumber Chris, and so Chris puts his faith in trust and his men and decides he will follow them headfirst out.

32:07 Chris knows full well that if his men are wrong, then they're headed to certain death, for there is only one exit from this pipeline. There's a break in the go pro footage here and I think we lost quite a bit of tape. And I think this is probably where they're talking about the head first versus foot first thing. Maybe the GoPro got turned off or the audio was corrupted. Here's where the brake happens. Oh, I know what we.

32:47 What? You? What? You right now? And them then we are dead inside. It was like an unbelievable night. Man, your eyes burning every time I tried to open your eyes at burning a pitch blocker, can't see nothing, your truth booning, your ears, ringing your body. So well, do you want to rise or do you happy to sit for a moment? What would what would you like to do?

33:35 I thought about that minute. Of course you can please take him out from moment, please somebody. And Chris starts to get a little choked up at this point in the courtroom testimony. He asks for a break, and actually when they come back is when Chris has a full on breakdown. But he does push through it, and we'll get into that footage right after this quick break. Don't go anywhere, don't feel inhibited in asking again if you need another break? All right, at any point, right, don't don't We don't mind sitting taking a few minutes, alright, say if you need it, you ask, all right, take it, take a time.

34:27 I would amend that at least I gotta be here and I would have feel living everyone. Chris says, I owe the man at least to be here and do this for them. Oh oh, apologize. There's no need for an apology, absolutely none at all. Do you think you need a little more times? Let me just go over with that, of course. Well, then take a moment, go to there.

35:14 Okay, mister go drown. What I will do I will let you continue from what you were saying, but then with leave of the commission, I would show you your statements and ask you whether what you said and those contents of the statements are true and correct. Okay mm hmm okay. So the last thing you told us just before the break, take your time. You said that there was your phone, not human chain, and and cousin was ill. Could you tell us what happened after that? As far as you can recall. Pull it on, jag and shouty, let's pull it on jargon.

35:58 Shud be a bucket. Pulling and dragging through the air pocket. Essentially, the men have formed a human chain. At this point, those who can push are pushing, and those who can pull are pulling those with broken bones. Can I ask you at this stage was was there any water or fluid in the pipe at all? Or were you in a dry area of the pipe. Where I where I ended up? No? No, I noticed that I was close. I realized that than they. Were, right I was. So you were at the front effectively, So you must have been the last person to be sucked into the pipe, correct, right, while.

36:43 I was there, there were some water maybe, like I will. Eat the ten inches right, and we're talking about a thirty each pipe. We have a hoopiet somewhere, so it's not a great big amount of space. We have a hoop. Yes, that that that that is about an inch smaller on either side for the sort of pipe that you were in. That's the so that we can get a visual that's the diameter approximately of the pipe that you were in. All right, so we can now picture the situation. If you were to reach out your arms and try to form a hoop that is roughly the size of a thirty inch pipe. Of course, it depends on how big your arms are. But imagine a medium to large sized hula hoop.

37:34 You're down there. It's completely dark, so you can't see anything, but you can hear, all right, then you can touch. There's about did you say eight inches or so of water, something like fluid. The six inches? Yeah, well liquid, yes, yeah, gonna exactly if it. Was you're oil or. But it wasn't mixed, right, I understand what there's no. Right, and and the walls of the inside of the pipe with a slippery I mean, how did it. Feel they were tickling with oil? Right? Right? Quite old pipes, so obviously they wouldn't build up of that material on the inside. So was it slippery as you were trying to crawl along it?

38:25 Every time? A dragon? If you don't like, yes, did you have any idea about how far away you were from the vertical pipe? Any sense of that at all? No? I could tell it wasn't. I don't think it was shortly No, all right, but I feel like inside. Anyway you were telling you were telling, mister mah raj Anda, what were you were doing? And push, pushing and pulling and making away along the pipe? Right? Did you encounter any more fluid. While going back to well, it was was like about sixty eight and just when I reached back to them, the pipe was totally dry.

39:06 Right, Are there any gun gunny inside? Right? All right? Soon, so you'd. Gone backwards first of all, shuffling backwards with your feet first. Yes, and now you've made your chain. You've told us you're now making your way forward again. A right, right. They persuaded you that that was the right way to go, and then and so off you did. Off you went. Now as you're going forward, you start going back into the fluid, and then then tell us take it from there and tell mister Maharaj will help you. Long it wasn't like as just back in the f I'd like the short version of it, you know. In between ada I stopped and brigsns right, I was prettying with you guys. Asked them to pray too, you know, usef prey phizy say, because tells the prey as it?

40:04 Boy, my wife, is that Catholic assation you? Unfortunately, the video of the courtroom footage breaks up again, and when it resumes, we're talking about now one of the oxygen tanks that they found and how they begin to share it around, each taking small SIPs of air from it. After I finally done at the lem, I say, yo, watchmen reading this air for long, get me delirious and get me nofs and we start thinking, all kind of ship we need to start taking in the val SIPs our air from the town. They keep clear oxygen in your sister, we can't be it right to because we will need it so because just pull it and reread it.

40:50 So all lem I say, I would give body beat the chasm, if you know. And again, after pulling unpushing on me exhausted, we take two. You pull fresh air right there any tank. Not much and we shared so we don't know how longer we would need these thanks for you know, we don't even know if that's more inside got this stage. It was in my mindset, not knowing what's going on outside. What caused this incident. I'm not sure if it was the explosion. I'm not sure if the whole both on fire. We don't know, you know, And I understanding I'm thinking all of that, trying to take calm, to keep them for us calm was one of the hardest thing I had to do in this life.

41:40 And I was using one on because this sun was pinned. The son was pinned behind my back, and every time I tried bringing it forward, it was an excuseating pains with a I. Thought it was broken, so it was using one leg, my ankle. It was damage. I thought that was broken to I do know. The men are suffering from various broken bones, broken arms, broken ankles, and yet they keep trudging. This is the last piece of GoPro audio we have. I want to play it for you, and then from here on out we'll rely on the courtroom testimony alone.

42:37 God right, God, everything alright? And I haven't bread. All right? Bye? Anything, I'm you, Hi, God, anything, I'm here, you have anything. Him.

43:25 We'll be right back after a quick break. If you want to skip the ads and support the show, go to patreon dot com slash tapes from the dark Side. I found the goopool audio earlier. Yes, I found out, and I said, well, by the good pooh, yeah right. Become the goopo. When I was quit and rs, I was thinking or leaving our message from my family because already I already started to realize what. Was the old Coomaris With that group in my hand, something just on the Boido proclaimed that in your life, trust in Jesus and just the way I do a.

44:18 Prayer again. Pro At this point, Christopher finds the go pro and he contemplates leaving a message for his family, but decides not to quote proclaim death. If you come across any more fluid, Yeah, we are, and we bunce up, we bounce up water. I realized the water that's that gain high and higher. So I take a measurement from top of my nose to the top of the pipe, and I had six inches. I said, take a measurement from the top party water the the top party pipe.

45:02 He had to eat all right, say up on, say by what I get in higher and high? I went forward maybe so about maybe fifteen feet and as I went in more into the work that the whole pipe was too thrill. Yeah, so did you take one of the tanks and the regulator with you? Yeah? I went in, awho fifteen feet inwards? And I realized that I can't jog them with the piercing move in fifteen feet over. So I understand I had to go and get up and come back for them.

45:47 So I come back, prepare my mind mentally mentally because at this stage, I'm still not sure if you go in any correct direction, right because everything inside my whoop, and I rescue. Everything inside of you open. You know, nobody was making out to rescue me. You know what I mean? Right? I understand that I know so how far that is what I and I don't tell myself. I'm in a comeback from this soo, but I had to know to try because it is just as good as dying.

46:40 I don't know, it makes sense that you're still on place. On it. The boot drum. You told us that you went back to where the others were and he was steeling yourself to tell them what you were going to do. Did you do that? So I've come back and after preparing myself mentally or what I had to do, I to Lemna, Yo, we can't go no more food like this. I make them under stannny situation. I told Lemna I'd be there. Tell them fellows go back a little bit, but it will be coughed because we're earned so much out water. Everybody had to keep the nose jammed.

47:32 Ony body pie, So you were you were upside down, I say, on your back rather yes, So you're all on your back at the stage, and so you're saying to them, go back to where there's more air with a larger air pocket, where it was dry actually where they were, and you were going to go forwards and see it and get help, all right, So you've taken all of the texts. What about cousin Ali, what happened with him? Father Maliakma said, chris I said, I had to go very bab He said, you not to go.

48:12 Still with him and leaving, are just going to get help? And I'm coming back by by Albert, coming back for He said, so good, Chrysli said, but I'm not leaving over no, And I say something of that, but I know I don't just think coming back for. Christopher mentally and emotionally prepares to begin the journey of his life. The lives of himself and his four friends hang in the balance. If he reaches safety, he might be able to gather help and come back to save them, but if he fails, his life and his friend's lives are doomed.

48:54 I spin it round and come on my belly right and the tank and front of pushing the tank with the regulator in your mouth, right. And as I entered our water, because I know I do much care, I have a limited amount. I don't know how far ago. As I entered that must up every piece of strength, everything in method. Just push, just move. As fast as I could move. Brianna asked, go take him. Any strength, and I just go on and started to just run to the water. I started to move to the water while going through the tank. That are good dry Yet there's no even if you don't have our gage, I experienced I, but there's no money. Regulator. Start to get hard on your regulator doesn't make a little singing noise.

49:51 Minds well, I didn't even know if that was mine. The tank that I wasn't making any noise, but I know thank was going to again. So when I realized that, I could only hope are reaching that air bucket or I start feeling if I could feel a tank or anything like that too, So I pushing our feeling. I pushing our feeling. At this stage, I forcing that from I know it'll do recreational life. And say, no, what I mean by forcing If you ever do that, it's like it's sucking all that about. It, like you're ringing it dry. I feel like that forcing to get some air.

50:33 Christopher's tank is about to go dry, and he's literally sucking the last a little bit of air out of the tank, forcing it into his diaphragm. My tank hit the next tank. I don't. Like with this tank, and I run up and I scramble out one and I feel, I feel, I feel fait when I feel like I getty the mode piece. It had no when I get it. The second stage is that normal piece on it? Right? So I pushed the whole thing remoted was like eating oil, the oil inside, and I pulled it. I guess, thank you Lord. And then the tank that is in front of him hits another tank. Chris hears a tong sound and he scrambles to get the new tank. There's no second stage on the mouthpiece, and Christophers starts eating pure oil as he desperately tries to gasp another breath.

51:28 And I just started to go again. Maybe I'll posed it for a minute. What did you do with the empty tank? Did that hoss by you? Yeah? Yeah, I left the There was enough room for it to pass by, so you were able to leave it in the in the and then carry on with this new tank. I remember I look in the reach as fast as I want to go, as fast as possible. I don't need no extra baggage. So that's for what I was doing. That's all my mind that at same face fright or flight or something like that. I was just forward and as I keep going, and that our air pocket. But the son wasn't totally dry like the last one. This son was like halfway the pipe with water and liquid. You know, I hold up see if in my hair and trouble sent Judy water off.

52:33 Are you able to say how long that was? For that? There was this air pocket. At this stage, I've been honest with you, after trying to use all my senses and understanding and whatever skill I had to with them. Fellas at this stage when I did and I started to move, it was like me running from my pito. But I wasn't thinking how far it is anything that I was just my mind was just setting forward, forward, forward, Yes, we'll. Be right back after a quick commercial break, don't go anywhere.

53:21 So just before it came to voice Christopher, Christopher, yeah, fies. As you pause, you say away, I said, all right here, we are all right here, say right ther way, I say, I dimy pipe was all right here, summer right here? Say wait from is back way? Better? Beating down here too long? We stay down here too long. We need to move better away. We're down here too long. We have to save anybody we had to get out here. I can't stop, We can't take no breaks. If you need to take a break, stop and take a break. Once I reach out and I get as coming back for you, Chris Weird, Chris Weird, way fight that guy.

54:12 Chris hears Phizi's voice, Remember that's phiz Alkurban fiz is asking Chris for them to stop and take a break, but Chris knows this would be like signing their death sentences. There can be no breaks. That before, when I realized the pipeline flooding out, I did, boy, how this thing happened? By now yeah we have. Chris realizes the pipe is flooding now and they need to get out a sap. There's no time to pontificate on what caused this disaster. That can wait right now.

54:56 They need to move and as Chris says, have faith. Will Chris make it out alive? We'll find out on the next episode of Tapes from the Dark. Side, because no I going unfeast either depth or life right. So it's either light above you or. Not make up of mind to die for the two I went up. If you're a fan of Tapes from the Dark Side, I have some suggestions for you. I think you should consider treating yourself to our Patreon page. It's only about the cost of one coffee a month, and you'll get early access to the next episode in this series. Plus you'll get that episode ad free and every episode in our back catalog ad free. You'll also get access to our bonus episodes, which we have a series called night Terrors, one off episodes of true crime. If you want to join the little band we have together today, just go to patreon dot com slash Tapes from the Dark Side.

56:16 It only takes about one minute to join. You can cancel anytime. There's no obligation. Thank you to our new dark Siders this month. Novera, Machmoud, Carrie Dwyer, Rachel Daily, Eric Ninhala, Tristan Sibley, Anthony Michael, Triple Seven, Colby Jacobs, Gabriel Atwell, Olivia Gergis Carmen, Amy Mackie, Jouanna, Josh Johnson, Jane Freeman, Phoebe Joe and Lisa Leak. Thank you to our new three yearly members, which you get a couple months discount when you join for a year. It also helps me budget, so thank you to Sharon Mceroski, John Taylor and Epsen Falling, our new associate producer, Jay DeMoss, and our new Sticker Club members Galena and Justin Wood.

57:09 Thank you to our associate producers Sam and also our producers Jason Lews, Michael Paul Dekel, Erica, Kevin Stephenson, Veronica, Sidney Rainan, Kristin Rice, Jessie Bateman, Mariah, Monique Wilkinson, Teddy Redman, Jason Irvin, Jessica Cooper, Fiona Gibson, Jody c Sun, Dean Joyce, Loveless, Mallory Bitterman, Santana Savine, Ginoewood, Bunco, Tyler Ernster, Angela MF Pencil, Drunkie, Sherry Sly, Shelley Jones, Fran Alexis, Kathleen and Greg b And. If I mispronounce your name, feel free to email me tapes from the darkseyde Pod at gmail dot com or Instagram at the Darkseyde Pod. Send me a message thank you to everyone who provided music for this episode. Augusta Trevororum, thank you to twenty six hundred for allowing us to adapt his song for our main theme, and thank you to Ether for the track Density and time.

58:21 A dark side Scot