Watch: 22 Dead, 65 Missing From Barge P305 After Cyclone Tauktae Hits Mumbai

As many as 22 people are dead and a further 65 are missing after the cyclone Tauktae has left a barge adrift along the Bombay coast in the Arabian Sea. The Barge named P305 had been adrift since the cyclone had made landfall in Mumbai. Since then the Coast guard and the navy have been working round the clock to rescue the people onboard the barge.

As of, now 186 people have been rescued out of the 273 onboard as the navy jostled extreme weather conditions to rescue them. Along with the barge, there have been 2 tugboats that are adrift.

The navy has revealed that they are continuing with the rescue operations and not losing hope as of yet. Although the chances of rescuing the missing people have become bleak in the wake of the destruction caused by the cyclone and the passage of time.

Image Credits: @indiannavy – Twitter

The Navy has further informed that 2 other barges and an oil rig that had gone adrift before the cyclone had made landfall have been rescued now and all the crew is safe. Along with the 125 survivors 22 bodies have been recovered from the barge P305 by the Navy warship INS Kochi.

As of Wednesday morning INS Teg, INS Betwa, INS Beas, P8I aircraft and Seaking helicopters have been searching for the missing people. P305 barge had sunk during the servicing of the ONGC offshore operations.

As per the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar the ongoing search operations has been the most challenging rescue operation they have faced recently. This has been the biggest rescue operation in the past 4 decades.

The barge had sent a distress call on Monday, based on which the navy had launched the rescue operation to assist the sinking barge adrift off Heera oil fields.

#watch amazing #video of rescue operation by #INSKochi in the choppy waters @fpjindia
Several stranded workers pulled out of the water to safety.#cyclonetaukate #CycloneAlert pic.twitter.com/wZxSwht9u2

— Waldemarr Whosane (@HRH162) May 19, 2021

Reference: freepressjournal.in

Source: Maritime Shipping News