Thirty-eight Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) workers are still missing four days after a barge that was carrying 261 people sank 35 nautical miles off Mumbai as Cyclone Tauktae battered India’s west coast, reported NDTV.
As per the report, 186 people have been rescued and 37 bodies recovered from the wreck of barge P-305 so far, which was one of three – the others were Gal Constructor and Support Station-3 – deployed by engineering firm Afcons for its ONGC contract.
The Indian Navy is leading a massive rescue effort that includes several of its ships, P-81 reconnaissance aircraft and Sea King helicopters, as well as Coast Guard and ONGC vessels, to detect survivors from the sunken barge and other vessels stranded or affected by the storm, reported NDTV.
All 137 people on Gal Constructor, which ran aground during the storm, were rescued Tuesday, the Coast Guard said.
The cyclone made landfall in several states earlier this week with wind speeds of up to 160km/h (100mph).
At some places, winds uprooted trees and electricity poles. About 200,000 people were evacuated across several states as the cyclone approached, bringing with it heavy rains and gusty winds, reported BBC.