In one of the biggest off-shore rescue operations mounted by the Coast Guard & Navy, 637 men have been rescued from their vessels that went adrift in gale-force winds & high waves in the Arabian Sea during May 17 Cyclone Tauktae. However, search is still on for at least 80 more men who are missing, officials said. In all, one oil rig and four vessels servicing ONGC’s off-shore operations, and an unrelated freight ship, were caught in the cyclone as it barrelled its way past Mumbai on May 18. The men who were stranded on the oil rig & in the four vessels, three of them barges, are maintenance staff working on ONGC off-shore sites. Of the men rescued, 180 were from barge P305 but 80 remain missing from this vessel. The barge sank on May 17 at 7 pm. There is no official confirmation of casualties yet. Defence spokesperson Commander Mehul Karnik said, “We have rescued 180 persons from P305 which sank on Monday night. We are looking for the rest.” Watch the video to know more.
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