Watch: Barges Adrift Along Mumbai Coast As Cyclone Tauktae Hits India

The cyclone Tauktae which has been affecting the whole western coast of India lately had left 273 people on a barge at high risk of sinking.

However, Indian naval ships came to the rescue at the opportune moment to rescue the people on board the barge in the Bombay high area.

While the navy had rescued 146 people from sinking, the remaining 127 are stranded at sea with life jackets and efforts have begun to save them.

As the cyclone hit the Bombay coast on Monday, the barge had drifted off from the Heera Oil Fields. The navy had received a distress alert from the barge and started the rescue operation.

As part of the rescue efforts, the INS Shikra had sent a helicopter to the scene. Two other warships INS Kolkata and INS Kochi have joined the rescue operation which is still going on. Other offshore support vessels like Greatship Ahalya and Ocean Energy have been also deployed as the weather is quite extreme.

The warships had worked all through the night, rescuing 111 people. The offshore vessels on the other hand rescued 35 people. All the rescue has happened in the Vadrai, Satpati region of the Palghar district of Maharashtra. 2 helicopters from the Palghar district have helped in the process

Meanwhile, another barge, Gal Constructor, have run aground 48 nautical miles north of Colaba with 137 persons onboard. Coast guard ship Samrat and an emergency towing vessel, Water Lily, along with two support vessels have been rushed for rescue efforts.

#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

47 crew members from Gal Constructor barge had been rescued by the Palghar Coast Guard. Meanwhile, INS Talwar has been assisting the oil rig Sagar Bhushan with 101 personnel onboard and a barge with 196 personnel which are adrift 50 nautical miles southeast of Port Pipavav.

#CycloneTauktae #NationFirst Update on grounded barge GAL CONSTRUCTOR. Effective coordinated rescue operations resulted in saving of all 137 precious lives from the distressed barge. Rescue mission accomplished. We Protect वयम रक्षाम‌: pic.twitter.com/S16FPlr7ly

— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) May 18, 2021

As rescue efforts are continuing more and more naval vessels have been called for assistance.

#CycloneTauktae#Update
SAR Ops Barge P305.
177 personnel rescued so far.
First batch of 03 Rescuees brought in by #IndianNavy Helo.#INSKochi & #INSKolkata along with MV Offshore Energy & MV Ahalya continue with #SAR in extremely challenging circumstances.@DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/Jiede7ucEu

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) May 18, 2021

Reference: indianexpress.com