Cyclone Tauktae: 51 Dead, 24 Missing From Sunken Barge P305, Navy Continues Search Cyclone Tauktae: 51 Dead, 24 Missing From Sunken Barge P305, Navy Continues Search 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.
Of the 261 personnel on barge P305 that sank on Monday, 186 have been recovered so far.
Mumbai:
The number of deaths on barge P305 that sank in the Arabian Sea five days ago rose to 51 on Friday with the recovery of two more bodies even as the Navy and the Coast Guard continued the search for the 24 personnel missing from the barge and 11 from anchor boat Varaprada.
The warship INS Kochi arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday with 125 workmen rescued from barge P305, an accommodation barge that sank amid the Cyclone Tauktae fury. Of the 273 people on the ill-fated barge, 184 have been rescued so far by the Indian Navy. My ship has come back with 125 of the 184 persons from P305 rescued so far, Captain Sachin Sequeira, the commanding officer of INS Kochi, told reporters here. The operating conditions during the ongoing search and rescue at sea are tough with wind speeds of almost 90-100 kmph and waves as high as 9-10 metres, he said. INS Kochi had set sail from the city on Monday morning to rescue the workmen from P305 in the Heera oil drilling platform, around 70 km off the Mumbai coast.