Cyclone Tauktae: Indian Navy, Coast Guard Rescue 317 From Barges In Arabian Sea; 390 Stranded Or Missing

Braving extreme weather, the Indian Navy (IN) and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 317 people stranded and struggling for survival on two barges that were engulfed by Cyclone Tauktae in what is described as one of the biggest search and rescue operations in the Arabian Sea.

The officials also stated that around 390 people remain stranded or missing from offshore facilities, reports Business Today.

As per the report, three barges and an oil rig with 707 personnel went adrift on Monday which included barge P305 with 273 persons, cargo barge GAL Constructor with 137 personnel on board, accommodation barge SS-3 with 196 personnel on board and the Sagar Bhushan oil rig with 101 personnel on board.

The Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) said earlier on Tuesday that one of its oil exploration drilling rigs and three construction barges of Afcons Infrastructure Ltd. (AIL) was involved in the unfortunate incidents during the Cyclone Tauktae onslaught.

The vessels are ONGC Drill Ship 'Sagar Bhushan' and AIL's Barge Gal Constructor which ran aground near Colaba Point, Barge Papaa-305 which has sunk and Barge Support Station-3, which is drifting northwest in the sea with two ONGC offshore vessels sent to provide assistance.

According to IN and ICG, these incidents involved a total of 707 persons of which 314 have been rescued and further operations are continuing since the past 24 hours.

Though the ONGC could not provide the total number of staff in the Bombay High Fields, around 175 km in the high seas, the company said that all its offshore installations and oil platforms were safe.

With IANS Inputs