Sunk barge toll rises to 49, 37 missing
Death toll on the barge that sunk after being hit by severe cyclone Tauktae rose to 49 while 37 others still remain missing, government sources said.
The Navy on Thursday morning launched a fresh aerial search and rescue mission, deploying helicopters to scour the waters off Mumbai coast, where the accommodation barge P305 went adrift in Cyclone Tauktae fury before it sank Monday.
As many as 6,961 persons stayed safe at 342 oil and gas installations dotting the western coast when the severe cyclone Tauktae rammed through, but equipment malfunction at five vessels put 714 people at risk, leaving at least 49 dead and 37 other missing.
Government sources said 7,675 persons were at 234 fixed and 99 floating oil and gas installations in the Arabian Sea before the cyclone made landfall on Monday night. Out of 99 floating units, 94 remained safe at appropriate locations at sea or shore
Naval ships INS Kochi on Wednesday morning and INS Kolkata late Wednesday night brought the bodies of the “Brave Nature’s Victims” to Mumbai, the spokesperson told PTI.
Chances of finding more survivors are looking bleak, an official said.
Mumbai police have announced they will conduct a probe as to why the ill-fated barge remained in the turbulent area despite warnings about cyclone Tauktae, an official said. They registered an accidental death report (ADR) on Wednesday in connection with the death of the personnel on the barge.
“The Navy’s Search and Rescue (SAR) operations entered the fourth day today. Naval ships and aircraft are presently undertaking SAR of the missing crew members of Accommodation Barge P-305, which sank on Monday 35 miles off Mumbai,” a Navy spokesperson said.
Navy ships INS Kochi, INS Kolkata, INS Beas, INS Betwa,
INS Teg, P8I maritime surveillance aircraft, Chetak, ALH and Seaking helicopters are involved in the SAR operations, he said.
Another Navy ship INS Talwar was the ‘On Scene Coordinator’ off Gujarat coast and assisted Support Station 3 (SS-3) and Drill Ship Sagar Bhushan, which were being safely towed back to Mumbai by ONGC support vessels, he said.
Navy ships were deployed on Monday after the Navy was informed that barge ‘P305’ had gone adrift off the Heera oil fields in Bombay high area with 261 personnel on board. The oil fields are around 70 km southwest of Mumbai.
Rajnath lauds efforts of forces in rescue ops
Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday lauded the efforts of the armed forces and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in conducting search and rescue operations in areas affected due to Cyclone Tauktae. With 38 people on board a barge that sank in the Arabian Sea four days ago still missing, the Indian Navy ships worked through the night, using searchlights to trace any movement in the pitch dark waters as hopes of finding more survivors began to recede on Thursday.
The cyclone made a landfall on Monday night near Una town in Gir Somnath, Gujarat, and wreaked havoc for around 28 hours before it weakened into a depression. As many as 53 people have lost their lives in incidents related to the cyclone in Gujarat. The defence ministry’s statement said, “He (Singh) commended the Indian Navy and the ICG for saving the lives of people stranded at sea, while hailing the army for deploying its columns in affected areas and the IAF for transporting NDRF personnel.”