Latest news with #IsabelleStanley
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Mail's gripping podcast Pipeline - which tells the horrifying story of five divers sucked into an undersea oil pipe - reaches TOP spot in US Apple charts
The Daily Mail's gripping podcast Pipeline is now the top series in the US Apple Podcast charts, and second in Australia. The bombshell documentary, which tells the story of a group of divers left to die in an undersea oil pipe, has topped the all-genres charts less than four weeks after the first episode aired. It has fought off competition from heavyweight podcast producers including Sony, ABC News and even Apple itself. Pipeline tells the story of five professional divers who were tasked with repairing an undersea oil pipe off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago in February 2022. Due to unexpected air pressure within the 30in-wide pipe, all five men were sucked hundreds of feet into it as they were putting the finishing touches to their work. One of the divers managed to escape but the other four were left to die, with an autopsy later revealing one may have been alive for up to 39 hours. Pipeline's international success has been down to its incredible story that taps into everyone's worst nightmare, according to the Mail's head of podcasts Jamie East. 'I just couldn't believe that more hadn't been made of this story,' he said of his thoughts after the idea was pitched to him by reporter Isabelle Stanley, who hosts the show. 'The fact that it turned into this huge, disgraceful cover-up, and that the divers could have been saved, is just unbelievable. 'It has been really pleasing to give a voice to the victims' families, who have been trying to get justice and compensation for their loved ones for years. We hope that this will spur them on to do that.' One of the divers, Christopher Boodram, 39, managed to escape after an unimaginable three-hour ordeal. But after dragging his injured body through the filthy, flooded, pitch-dark depths of the narrow pipe, he was dashed to hospital where he later discovered to his horror that no rescue mission for his trapped colleagues had been attempted. In fact, the Paria Fuel Trading Company, the Trinidadian state-owned oil firm that controlled the pipeline, was actively preventing rescuers from going into the pipe. Pipeline tells a riveting story of human survival, betrayal and lies, and probes the one horrifying question refuses to go away: why were four men left to die under the sea? It uncovers evidence of failing safety standards, lucrative contracts and secretive political relationships, confronts some of Trinidad's most powerful men and confronts its then-prime minister. The dogged enquiries may even have triggered an early election on the island, as politicians sought to protect themselves from bad publicity over the deaths of Fyzal Kurban, 57, Rishi Nagassar, 48, Kazim Ali Jr, 37, and Yusuf Henry, 31. The team that travelled to Trinidad and Tobago to carry out the investigation for the show also included producer Bella Soames and journalist Andy Jehring. 'I'm really pleased that Pipeline has been so successful around the world. It's thanks to a lot of hard work from Bella and Isabelle, they worked incredibly hard for months. 'They've lived this story, and it shows - if you immerse yourself in the story and give it the credit it deserves, then it makes a real difference, and listeners obviously agree.' He added Apple was very supportive and contacted him this morning to tell him Pipeline had become the number one series in the US. A second investigation series is already in production, looking at the devastating impact of a bizarre ritual on thousands of US families. To listen to the chart-topping podcast series, search Pipeline now, wherever you get your podcasts.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Lawyer claims state-owned oil company may have blocked efforts to rescue divers trapped inside underwater pipe because it was 'cheaper to allow them to die'
Podcast All episodes Play on Apple Spotify On the latest episode of the Daily Mail's Pipeline podcast, reporter Isabelle Stanley examines the chilling theories as to why Paria blocked efforts to rescue four men trapped in an underwater oil pipe. From compensation plots to international conspiracy, Stanley interviews legal experts and journalists to test the credibility of theories that emerged in the wake of the Caribbean Diving Disaster. In February 2022, five divers were sucked hundreds of feet into a 30-inch pipe they were repairing off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago. Despite one of the divers, Christopher Boodram, escaping after an unimaginable three-hour ordeal, rescue attempts for the remaining four were repeatedly blocked, leaving them to die slowly in what became a national scandal. The pipe was managed by Paria, one arm of Trinidad's state-owned oil company. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Trinidad's then-Energy Minister Stuart Young launched an official enquiry, led by one of the UK's top international criminal barristers, Jerome Lynch KC. Lynch concluded that the four divers weren't rescued because of a series of mistakes, incompetence and inaction by Paria. Despite his recommendation that the oil company be charged with corporate manslaughter, police have issued only vague statements that an investigation remains ongoing Despite his recommendation that the oil company be charged with corporate manslaughter, police have issued only vague statements that an investigation remains ongoing. This stalemate and lack of closure has created an information vacuum - which residents of Trinidad have filled with hundreds of theories, trying to work out why Paria abandoned the rescue effort. Rightly or wrongly, the victims' families wonder if there is something more… another reason to explain why their loved ones were left to die - something other than pure negligence or incompetence. Prakash Ramadhar, a lawyer representing two of the victims' families, told the podcast that he believes the oil giant may have thwarted a rescue to avoid the costs associated with caring for the injured divers if they had been pulled out alive. He claims any survivors may have suffered life-changing injuries, creating lifelong financial liability for the company. Mr Ramadhar said: 'I believe that Paria's initial belief was that they all had perished and if they had not perished, they would soon perish. 'As crass as it may sound, there is a belief in the legal fraternity that it may have been cheaper to allow the men to die than it was to rescue them, broken and maimed. 'Ensuring their medical wellbeing and upkeep for their rest of their lives is far more expensive than allowing them to die.' To hear Stanley interrogate this theory and many others that emerged in the wake of the Caribbean Diving Disaster, search for Pipeline now, wherever you get your podcasts.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE PIPELINE: My son spent his last moments gasping for air in an underwater oil pipe - this is my story
The Mail have launched a new six-part investigative podcast series into the 2022 Caribbean diving disaster. This real-time investigation sees reporter Isabelle Stanley travel to Trinidad and Tobago to interview the victims' families and the tragedy's sole survivor. Travelling to the nation for a first-of-its-kind investigation into the disaster, this explosive podcast will uncover a story of corporate negligence, betrayal, and greed. Listen here The Tragedy In February 2022, five men were sent to repair a leaking section of underwater pipe just off the coast of Trinidad. What should have been a routine job for the experienced divers turned deadly when something went terribly wrong and, in less than a second, they were sucked inside the 30-inch pipe they were repairing. Despite being dragged hundreds of feet through the pipe beneath the sea, the men survived the initial impact. They were scattered throughout the pipe, but managed to group together, breathing in tiny pockets of air that had been sucked in with them. One of the men, Christopher Boodram, managed to drag himself out over the course of three agonising hours, but attempts to rescue the other four were repeatedly blocked. They were left to die. And they didn't die quickly. Autopsies later revealed that one of the divers, Kazim Ali Jr, may have been alive for as long as 39 hours inside the pipe The tragedy sparked a national scandal in Trinidad, and billboards demanding justice still line street corners to this day. A Father's Pain In the first episode of Pipeline, Stanley spoke to the father of one of the divers, Kazim Ali Sr, who has spent the three years since the tragedy hunting for answers. Kazim Ali Sr is in a uniquely terrible position. He not only lost his son in the tragedy -but he also owned the business that all the divers worked for, LMCS. LMCS had been hired by Paria, the state-owned oil company, to repair the pipe. 'I think about it 25 hours a day', the grieving father told podcast host Stanley. 'It's never out of my mind. Learning he'd been alive for 39 hours, that was the killer.' The first two episodes of Pipeline, explaining the tragedy, featuring exclusive interviews with the families of the victims and the sole survivor of the disaster, Christopher Boodram, are available now. PIPELINE The six-part podcast series will explore allegations that efforts to rescue the other four men were actively obstructed, and will unearth close connections between Trinidad's political elite and oil executives. Travelling to the nation for a first-of-its-kind investigation into the disaster, this explosive podcast will uncover a story of corporate negligence, betrayal, and greed.
