A group of divers wereleft drowning in oilas they desperately strained to breathe in their final tragic hours after being sucked into an oil pipe.

In February 2022,professional diversChristopher Boodram, Fyzal Kurban, Kazim Ali Jr, Rishi Nagassar and Yusuf Henry set out for a job like any other - repairing a leak on an oil pipe on the sea floor off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago.

With their suits on, theydived beneath the surface to reach their work site, from where they would eventually be sucked into the 30-inch oil pipe.

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Somehow, they survived being dragged hundreds of feet through the narrow tube before crashing into an air pocket.

Covered in oil in absolute darkness, some of the men had sustained serious injuries. Desperately willing to live, they managed to survive by straining their necks out of the viscous liquid to breathe.

One of the divers, Boodram, made the unthinkable decision to leave the others - most of whom were lifelong friends - on his three-hour odyssey to reach the surface by crawling back through the pipe. Eventually, he was dragged out by other divers and taken to the surface. He was the sole survivor.

During his rescue, Boodram told the oil company his friends were still trapped on the seabed - and most importantly - that they could still be saved. Despite plans being made to save them, nothing was done and their dead bodies were flushed from the pipe several days later. One is thought to have stayed alive for 39 hours in the most-terrifying conditions.

The men - who were on the final day of their project - dived 15ft down to a tight chamber from where they were going to install a new section of pipe. They carried out some of the work - removing plugs that would prevent the oil and gas from escaping - before returning to the surface for lunch.

At around 2.15pm, Boodram, Henry, Kurban, Nagassar returned, while Kaz Jr watched from the surface before heading back down to bring the team extra equipment.

As the men loosened a valve, the water level rose in the chamber, forming a swirling vortex which pulled them 60ft down into the pipe.

The survivor Boodram recalled how he held his breath for as long as he could until it felt like his lungs were on fire. But miraculously, the men came to a sudden halt in a part of the pipe where pockets of air had formed above their heads.

Boodram believed his shoulder and ankle had been broken by the impact - and he could barely move in the pipe, which was around the width of a man's shoulders.

Calling out to his colleagues, all he heard in response was their agonising screams. Nagassar's injuries were so severe he was unable to move, but the others managed to group together in a human chain under one pocket of air. Kaz Jr and Henry were also badly injured.

With their oxygen supply running out, they knew they had to move - but they didn't know which direction would lead them to safety or certain death. If they took the wrong route, they'd be trapped by the sealed section of the other end of the pipe.

Eventually they agreed on a route. Along the way, Kurban came across an air tank that had been sucked in with them, before Boodram found a second - allowing the men to take turns.

They reached the end of their air pocket before Boodram went ahead to check the situation. He was devastated to see the pipe completely filled with water - which would make it impossible for all four of them to continue with just two air tanks.

He returned to his pals and delivered the heartbreaking news, telling them they would have to stay behind if there was to be any hope of them being saved.

Kaz Jr grabbed Boodram's foot as he and Henry begged him not to go. Kurban, the most experienced of the group, knew he must - knowing full well that they could easily run out of air before a rescue could reach them, reports the MailOnline.

Swimming through the pipe, his air was just about to run out when he was given another lifeline - another scuba tank. He reached another air pocket, from where he could hear the agonising wails of his friends.

He finally managed to reach the section they'd been working on, but the cavalry hadn't been called and there was no one there to help him.

Panicking, Boodram started to scream for help and used a chain to bang on the pipe. Eventually, two divers had entered the chamber and heaved him out.

Despite Boodram telling the oil company - Paria - that his friends were in unimaginable conditions 60ft below the surface they failed to send rescuers to reach them.

Without warning the families beforehand, chairman Newman George called a press conference to announce the operation had moved from rescue to recovery of their remains.

Paria pumped the bodies out of the line, putting up tarpaulins around the entrance so what came out couldn't be seen. Three bodies emerged - Kurban, Henry and another that couldn't immediately be identified due to similarities in Kaz Jr and Nagassar's stature and scuba suits on the day.

Nagassar's wife eventually confirmed it was not her husband, with his body not being flushed out for another three days.

Post-mortem examinations revealed the men had suffered a horrendous ordeal, with one of them thought to have been alive for up to 39 hours in the pipe.