Navy recovers 14 bodies after Barage sank in Arabian Sea

Indian Navy has recovered 14 bodies from the Arabian sea during a search and rescue operation in the aftermath of cyclone Tauktae. Even as the process of identification of the deceased is ongoing it is not yet clear as to which vessels they were from. Commander Operations, Western Naval Command, MK Jha confirmed the number of deaths and said identification is underway. How, however, said it is yet to be ascertained whether all the casualties were reported from P-305.Altogether 89 personnel onboard accommodation barge P-305 are still missing, sources said on Wednesday.

A tug boat has reportedly sunk in the Arabian Sea during cyclone Tauktae. It had 13 members on board, two of whom have been rescued by the Navy and search is on for the remaining 11 individuals. The Navy said its personnel, battling extreme weather, have so far rescued 184 of the 273 people who were onboard barge P305. "Search and rescue operations are still on, and we haven't lost hopes of bringing them ashore," an official said. All personnel on board two other barges and an oil rig rendered adrift hours before the "very severe cyclonic storm" made landfall on the Gujarat coast are also safe, a Navy spokesperson said. Meanwhile, Navy warship INS Kochi reached Mumbai on Wednesday carrying 125 of the 184 rescuees from P305.

 INS Teg, INS Betwa, INS Beas, P8I aircraft and Seaking helicopters are continuing with the search and rescue operations," a Navy spokesperson said. All the 137 personnel on barge GAL Constructor were rescued on Tuesday by the Navy and Coast Guard. The 196 personnel on barge SS-3 and 101 personnel on board oil rig Sagar Bhushan are safe, the official said. Offshore vessels hired by ONGC and SCI towing then to safety. INS Talwar is also in the area to assist in the SAR ops, he added. Ships and aircrafts of the Indian Navy had been searching the waters off the coast of Mumbai for the missing 89 individuals who were onboard the barge that sank 35 nautical miles off Mumbai, in the aftermath of cyclone Tauktae.