The Indian Navy mounted a massive air and sea rescue mission on Tuesday for 79 oil workers and crew whose barge sank in heavy seas following a powerful cyclone that tore up the west coast killing at least 29 people.
Around 182 of those on board the barge, which sank off the coast of Mumbai, were rescued from the huge waves, the navy said.
Cyclone Tauktae, the most powerful storm to batter the west coast in two decades, ripped out power pylons, trees and caused house collapses killing at least 29 people, authorities said.
It has piled pressure on Indian authorities as they grapple with a massive rise in coronavirus infections and deaths as well as a shortage of beds and oxygen in hospitals.
"This is one of the most challenging search and rescue operations I have seen in the last four decades," Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, told Reuters partner ANI on Tuesday.
Navy spokesman Vivek Madhwal said waves reached 20 to 25 feet amid poor visibility. Three more barges were adrift near the Gujarat coast but rescue operations were underway.
The storm made landfall in Gujarat state late on Monday and was expected to weaken overnight into Wednesday, the Indian Meteorological Department said.
Naval ships and aircraft have been deployed to search for the49 still missing from the barge tragedy.
"Search and rescue (SAR) operations off Mumbai and Gujarat entered their third day today. Indian Naval ships and aircraft are presently undertaking SAR of the missing crew members of accommodation barge P-305, which sank on May 17, 35 miles off Mumbai," the navy spokesperson said in a statement.
The navy said 186 people had been rescued from the barge contracted to state-run energy explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp
"… weather conditions are expected to return to normal by tomorrow (Wednesday)," Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said.
Source: Reuters
