Mumbai: A barge that went adrift with 146 people on board in the Arabian Sea near Mumbai was rescued by the Indian Navy hours before a very severe cyclonic storm with winds gusting up to 185 km per hour made landfall on the Gujarat coast, an official said on Tuesday.
Three of its frontline warships were deployed by the Navy after getting messages to rescue 410 people on board two barges off the Mumbai coast on Monday.
The ships deployed to extend help to the two barges were INS Kolkata, INS Kochi and INS Talwar.
“A total of 132 persons from Barge P305 have been rescued in extremely challenging sea conditions,” a Navy spokesperson was quoted as saying by news agency PTI on Tuesday morning.
According to him, the Search and Rescue (SAR) operations continued throughout the night for the remaining crew.
“In a separate effort, INS Kolkata rescued two survivors from the life raft of vessel Vara Prabha, and joined INS Kochi for the SAR of Barge P305 crew,” the spokesperson said.
#CycloneTauktae
In response to another SOS received from Barge ‘GAL Constructor’ with 137 people onboard about 8NM from #Mumbai, INS Kolkata has been sailed with despatch to render assistance. @indiannavy @SpokespersonMoD @DDNewslive @ANI pic.twitter.com/aWI9qR73V9— PRO Defence Mumbai (@DefPROMumbai) May 17, 2021
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