âWe were told to stop working on May 15 and come back to the barge,â Naresh said. âBut we were not given any instructions or told that weâll be going back to the shore. They just moved our barge 200 metres away from the oil platform.â
So, P305 remained in open water. On the morning of May 17, when Cyclone Tauktae ushered in winds of 150-200 kmph and waves 10 metres high, six of the bargeâs anchors snapped. The barge then rammed into an oil platform which punctured a hole in the vessel, causing water to gush in.
Survivors and relatives of those dead or missing all asked