NEW DELHI (AP) â Indian navy ships recovered 26 bodies of people who were aboard a barge that sank off Mumbai as the most powerful storm to hit the region in more than two decades blew ashore this week, officials said Wednesday.
The search is continuing for 49 more people who are missing after the cyclone hit Monday, navy spokesman Mehul Karnik said.
He said five ships, a surveillance aircraft and three helicopters involved in the search had rescued 186 people in rough seas with waves of up to 7 meters (25 feet).
A navy statement said 125 survivors and two bodies have arrived in Mumbai and others are expected to get there late Wednesday.
Cyclone Tauktae: Hunt on for 51 missing after barge sinks near Mumbai
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Wednesday May 19, 2021
People who were stranded at sea due to Cyclone Tauktae exit an Indian Navy Sea King Mk.42C helicopter, after they were rescued by the Indian Navy, at INS Shikra, Colaba, Mumbai, India, May 18, 2021. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
AHMEDABAD/MUMBAI: Naval vessels and aircraft scoured the waters off India s west coast on Wednesday after the most powerful cyclone in more than two decades battered the region, sinking a barge and killing 22 aboard, authorities said.
Cyclone Tauktae unleashed waves of up to 25 feet (7.6 m) offshore before it hit the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat during the past two days, leaving a trail of destruction that killed 61 others, authorities said.
MUMBAI: The bodies of 26 personnel on board Barge Papaa (P-305), which sunk amid the fury unleashed by Cyclone Tauktae, were recovered from the Arabian Sea by Indian Navy warships engaged in search and rescue operations through Tuesday and Wednesday. The bodies were found floating 50 to 60 nautical miles (over 90km) off the Mumbai coast. Forty nine crew members are still missing, while 186 have been rescued.
A total of 273 personnel were earlier said to have been on board, but the ONGC, which had deployed the barge, revised the count to 261 on Wednesday. The search operations for the missing 49 will continue, officials said.