New Delhi: The intensity of the Tauktae storm is now weakening. Both Maharashtra and Gujarat have been affected by the tout. A boat was stuck near Mumbai in the Tauktae storm, carrying a total of 273 people. So far 177 people have been rescued in the rescue operation of the Indian Navy.
Sixty persons on board the barge were rescued till 11 pm and the remaining overnight, the official said, adding a Navy helicopter brought three rescuees to INS Shikra this morning.
INS Shikra, formerly known as INS Kunjali, is a naval air station located at Colaba in south Mumbai.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) had on Monday said barge P305 with 261 personnel deployed for offshore drilling got de-anchored and began drifting because of the cyclonic storm Tauktae.
P305 being an accommodation barge had no engine to power it, and it hit an oil rig in the vicinity and there was the ingress of water, sources said.
A barge is a long flat-bottomed boat either under its power or towed by another. An accommodation barge is of the shallow draft (vessel whose keel is not far below the waterline) and is used to accommodate personnel on projects where shore accommodation is not available.
Offshore accommodation barges are fully autonomous and used mainly in the oil and gas industries.
The Navy on Tuesday morning also deployed the P-8I long-range, multimission maritime patrol aircraft to join the search and rescue operations, the official said.
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Another barge, the ‘Gal Constructor’ with 137 persons on board has run aground about 48 nautical miles north of Colaba Point, he said. An Emergency Towing Vessel ‘Water Lily’, two support vessels, and CGS Samrat are in the vicinity for rendering assistance and evacuation of crew, he added.
