184 rescued ship personnel reached Mumbai port
New Delhi, 19 May (HS): The naval ship INS Kochi and INS Kolkata have reached Mumbai port on Wednesday morning with the rescued 184 personnel from the ship Barge P-305 who sank amidst stormy waves of cyclone Tauktae. A total of 273 personnel were deployed on this ship with 89 personnel still missing. Earlier yesterday all 137 people were rescued from the barge gal constructor and the rescue mission was terminated thereafter.
According to the Navy spokesperson, the Barge P-305 and Barge Gal Constructor, engaged in oil exploration work near Bombay High in Mumbai were washed away in the Arabian Sea by the Tauktae storm. Both ships were traced by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard late on Monday evening and began operations to rescue 410 personnel trapped in the ships. Indian Navy’s INS Kochi, INS Kolkata and 18 offshore aid vessels Energy Star were deployed in rescue operations under extremely challenging sea conditions. Although the P-305 ship sank under odd conditions due to the rapid movement at sea.
In the search and rescue operations of the Navy and Coast Guard, 184 personnel of the barge ‘P305’ have been safely rescued. A total of 273 personnel were deployed on this ship with 89 personnel still missing. INS Kochi and INS Kolkata, engaged in the rescue mission, returned to Mumbai port this morning with rescue teams carrying 184 rescued workers. INS Tej, INS Betwa, INS Beas, P-8I aircraft and Sea King Helos still continuing with search and rescue operations.
Amit Kumar Kushwaha, an employee brought from INS Kochi to Mumbai, said the barge P-305 was sinking, so I had to jump into the sea. I stayed at sea for 11 hours. After that the Navy rescued us.
Capt. Sachin Sikera, Commanding Officer of INS Kochi, told that 184 people have been completely rescued and brought to Mumbai. Naval ships and aircraft are still in operation. We are still searching for the missing people. He said that they got the input of the ship P- 305 being in crisis about 35-40 miles from Mumbai. The ship was in very difficult conditions as the storm was passing West of Mumbai. We reached the scene and handled the situation.
