The Indian ship P-305, trapped by the Tau Te storm near Hira Oil Fields, 175 km from Mumbai, has sunk into the sea. The Indian Navy has saved 146 people on board, while more than 130 are missing.
Another Indian ship is stranded at this place. INS has been sent to Kolkata to rescue the riders. It is being told that there are 137 people in it. Of these, 38 have been safely evacuated.
Commander Vivek Madhwal, spokesperson of the Indian Navy, said, “INS Kochi was sent to help the boat ‘P-305’ in the diamond oil field located in the Bombay High area. INS Talwar was also deployed for search and relief operations. An emergency message was also received from another ship, the GAL constructor, which is carrying 137 people and is eight nautical miles off the Mumbai coast. INS Kolkata has been dispatched to help it. Navy helicopters are placed by stand. They will be put into rescue when the weather improves slightly.
Commander Madhwal said that earlier on Monday, 4 crew members stranded in the Indian tugbo Coromandel Supporter IX, which had been inundated by the cyclone in the Arabian Sea earlier in the day, were rescued by a naval helicopter. He said that the machinery parts of this ship stuck in the sea were flooded, due to which it was not able to move forward. Its power supply was also stopped.
He informed that in view of the cyclone, 11 divers teams of Indian Navy have been kept ready. Twelve flood relief teams and medical teams have also been deployed. These will be dispatched in case of need in hurricane affected states.
On behalf of ONGC, due to severe cyclonic storms, 3 construction barges of Afcons working on an ONGC project in the western coastal areas in the Arabian Sea and personnel deployed for exploration purpose have been victims of the unfortunate incident. ONGC said that, to ensure the safety of its personnel and ships, all possible measures are being taken in coordination with ODAG (Offshore Defense Advisory Group) and MRCC (Marine Rescue Coordination Center).
