Mumbai: As many as 26 personnel on board lodging barge P305 that went adrift in Cyclone Tauktae fury earlier than sinking in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast are useless and 49 are nonetheless missing, because the Navy continued search and rescue operations by means of the evening, an official stated. The Navy stated its personnel, battling excessive climate, have to this point rescued 186 of the 261 individuals who have been onboard barge P305 and in addition two from tugboat Varaprada.
So far 26 our bodies have been recovered and 49 individuals who have been on the barge P305 which sank on Monday are missing.
The Navy had to this point maintained that there have been 273 individuals on board the barge however an official on Wednesday night stated that the corporate which operated it has knowledgeable that there have been 261 personnel on board the ill-fated barge. “The Navy’s Search and Rescue (SAR) operations off Mumbai and Gujarat entered its third 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,” the spokesperson stated.
Warships INS Kochi, INS Kolkata, INS Beas, INS Betwa, INS Teg, P8I maritime surveillance plane, Chetak, ALH & Seaking helicopters are concerned in the SAR operations. “INS Kochi which entered Mumbai harbour on Wednesday to disembark 125 survivors and mortal stays of 4 crew members, was instantly sailed out in the night once more to proceed the search effort.
“INS Kolkata is scheduled to enter Mumbai harbour during the night to disembark the remaining survivors rescued from barge P-305 and Tug ‘Varapradha’ as well as the mortal remains of 18 crew members recovered during the operation.,” he stated.
On completion of its operations off Gujarat coast, INS Talwar has additionally been diverted to conjoin the opposite three naval ships trying to find the missing crew of barge P-305, off Mumbai.
INS Talwar was the ‘OnScene Coordinator’ off Gujarat coast and assisted Support Station 3 (SS-3) and Drill Ship Sagar Bhushan, which are actually being safely towed again to Mumbai by ONGC help vessels, he stated.
Food and water to the 300 odd crew members of those vessels was additionally offered by naval helicopters from Mumbai, earlier in the day,” he said. “As of now, 186 crew members of Accommodation barge P-305, and two from Tug ‘Varapradha’ have been rescued by Navy ships and plane. A complete of 26 mortal stays of the crew of Barge P305 have been recovered to this point,” he stated.
“Search and rescue operations are still. However, the chances of finding more survivors are getting bleaker by the hour,” an official stated.
All personnel on board two different barges and an oil rig rendered adrift hours earlier than the “very severe cyclonic storm” made landfall on the Gujarat coast are additionally protected, a Navy spokesperson stated.
After reaching Mumbai, the rescuees recounted how they battled tidal waves as excessive as 10 metres and robust winds whereas making an attempt to remain afloat in the cyclone-hit tough Arabian Sea for 2 days.Â
Workmen rescued from barge P305 narrated their horrifying expertise in their quest for survival. Some stated they’d nearly misplaced the hope of creating it alive again residence. “It was a horrific situation on the barge. I had not thought I would survive. But, I swam in the waters for seven to eight hours with the determination to stay alive and was rescued by the Navy,” workman Manoj Gite advised reporters right here.
Gite (19), a resident of Kolhapur, stated because the barge began sinking, all workmen bought nervous and he together with others wore a life jacket and jumped into the waters.
Asked if he would return to the rig once more, Gite stated he’s not eager to return and is contented to be alive after the nightmarish expertise. Another workman, who was injured in the incident, thanked the Indian Navy for saving his life. “It is because of the Navy that we all are alive and safe today, otherwise we don’t what would have happened to us,” the workman stated whereas combating again his tears.
All the 137 personnel on barge GAL Constructor have been rescued on Tuesday by the Navy and Coast Guard. The 196 personnel on barge SS-3 and 101 personnel on board oil rig Sagar Bhushan are protected, the official stated.
Three barges and an oil rig with 695 personnel on board went adrift on Monday. These included barge P305 with 261 individuals, cargo barge GAL Constructor with 137 personnel on board, lodging barge SS-3 with 196 personnel on board and the Sagar Bhushan oil rig with 101 personnel on board, the official stated.
Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar stated the continuing SAR is among the many most difficult search and rescue operations in the final 4 many years.
Navy ships have been deployed on Monday after receipt of a request for help for barge ‘P305’ adrift off Heera oil fields in Bombay excessive space with 273 personnel on board. The oil fields are round 70 km southwest of Mumbai.Â
