As many as 38 people on board a barge that sank into the Arabian Sea four days ago continue to be missing. Although the Indian Navy is working through the night to trace any movement in the pitch dark waters, hopes of finding more survivors are starting to fade.
The Navy on Thursday morning launched a fresh aerial search and rescue mission, deploying helicopters to scour the waters off Mumbai coast, where the accommodation barge P305 went adrift under the impact of Cyclone Tauktae before it sank Monday.
The Navy personnel, battling extreme weather, have so far rescued 186 of the 261 people who were on board the barge P305 and two personnel from the tugboat Varaprada. They said that 37 personnel on board have unfortunately died.
Naval ships INS Kochi on Wednesday morning and INS Kolkata late Wednesday night brought the bodies of these “Brave Nature’s Victims” to Mumbai. Chances of finding more survivors are looking bleak, an official said.
But as the search operations continue, the rescued crew members and workmen have thanked the Navy for saving their lives and recalled the horrors they faced in the sea before they were saved.
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