00:00Nearly five months without closure. It's the reality Candacy Phillip, her children and the family of her husband, Pete Phillip, are forced to face since the World Service's Rig 110 employee went missing when the rig collapsed on December 22nd, 2024.
00:16TV6 News reached out to Minister of Energy, Dr. Rudal Munilal, concerning the tragedy which has been prolonged as recovery efforts have been unsuccessful to this point and have stalled for a while now.
00:28Hi, Alicia. Yes, in fact, I have directed a minister in the ministry, Ernest Tukiza, to convene a meeting urgently with Well Services to get an update for the record and for our knowledge as to what they are currently doing, what they have done and what they are doing to bring closure to this matter.
00:51The retrieval, of course, of the remains, but also to ensure that they collaborate with the Ministry of Energy and other stakeholders in this case to bring finality to the matter. We are deeply concerned.
01:07Dr. Munilal says he will personally engage Phillip's family.
01:12Early next week, I intend to visit the family of Pete Phillip. I expect, along with Minister Kesa, to visit the family.
01:21And I will, of course, express my very deep concern on behalf of Ms. Kamala-Pesad-Besessa and the government as well on this very sad development.
01:34But I prefer not to comment on the Well Services side until we have had that discussion and Minister Kesa has been mandated to meet.
01:43I believe correspondence has already been dispatched.
01:46Candacy Phillip tells us, Well Services continues to update her weekly.
01:51She has been receiving financial and psychosocial support from the company for her children and herself.
01:57And while grateful, the present circumstances deepen the complexity of the pain the mother of five feels.
02:03The last update was that the insurance on the writer, they say has approved, right, the settlement and just released agreement.
02:14That's all. That's the last update we did.
02:16I don't know when disclosure will come.
02:18I don't know.
02:19But in terms of closure, they're not given a specific time frame to say, no, well, all right, this month or next month, no, nothing like that.
02:32Phillip's baby boy, whom she was pregnant with when the tragedy struck, will be three months old on May 23rd.
02:39Her request to Dr. Munilal.
02:41I would like him to look into that matter, you know, it will just to bring closure.
02:47I know that I wouldn't get a body, but at least, at least I can recover with the bones.
02:56So, yeah.
02:57Based on where Well Services suspects that Phillip was trapped in the structure, the company believes that a skeletal remains will be found, further referring to the location as contained and partially submerged.
03:09Well Services tells TV6 News closure will benefit all stakeholders, but the rig remains unstable and the company was sorting out insurance and legal issues, among other challenges, and is in regular meetings with the Occupational Health and Safety Agency.
03:25The company, which has engaged an international third party to provide equipment, signals its expectation to resume the process soon, but it cannot say when.
03:36Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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