Mumbai: Indian Navy has so far rescued 188 workmen and recovered bodies of 37 people from Barge Papaa (P305) which sank in the Arabian Sea, 35 nautical miles from Mumbai under the impact of Cyclone Tauktae. Nearly 40 people are still missing and a search is underway to locate them.
Family members of Mohan Vamshi Krishna and Radheshyam Thakur have urged the government to intensify the rescue efforts as they have not contacted them ever since the tragedy took place.
Brother of Mohan Vamshi Krishna and Mohan Vamshi Krishna's wife appealed to the government to share information about them.
Read:| Barge P305 deaths: ONGC must be held responsible, says Nawab Malik
They were both employees of AFCON Private Limited and were on Barge P305.
Their family members said that they contacted the helpline number of AFCON and Oil Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited but did not receive any response.
After Cyclone Tauktae hit the region, four vessels of ONGC went adrift, stranding nearly 600 personnel on board.
Barge P305 started drifting after its anchors gave way off the Heera Oil Fields in Bombay High as cyclonic storm Tauktae brushed past the western coast.
The rescue operations by the Navy were undertaken in extreme weather conditions and very rough seas.
Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik has alleged that ONGC Limited did not heed the warnings on Cyclonic Tauktae and hence put the lives of 600 workers on the barge in danger.
As per reports, the Coast Guard sent warnings to ONGC that all vessels should come back to the harbour as the cyclone advanced closer to the Mumbai coast. However, despite the warnings, the personnel remained on board the barge.
Read:| Tauktae Havoc: Sea barge tragedy toll rises to 37, 49 still missing
"Despite many alerts on Cyclone Tauktae, the ONGC neglected the alert, the lives of 600 workers were in danger. They were not shifted to a safer place. More than 40 people are still missing, hundreds of workers were fighting for their lives in rough sea. Responsibility should be fixed. It is the responsibility of ONGC, those officials responsible for this should be suspended," Malik said.
The Maharashtra minister further said that ONGC and the Petroleum Ministry must be answerable for putting the lives of the workers in danger.
Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has set up a panel for enquiry in the matter on Thursday. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas announced a high-level inquiry into “lapses and gaps” in the system.
The inquiry would look into the sequence of events that led to the stranding and drifting of ONGC vessels, and whether the warnings issued for securing the vessels were adequately considered and acted upon.
Financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore has been announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for immediate relief activities after Cyclone Tauktae ravaged Gujarat.
The Prime Minister has also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakhs to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the seriously injured in the cyclone in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the UTs of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Cyclone Tauktae is the strongest storm to impact Gujarat since 1998 as it battered parts of the state and left behind a trail of destruction along the coast, uprooting electric poles and trees, and damaging several houses and roads, before weakening, officials said on Tuesday.
Read:| Barge P305: 186 survivors rescued, 26 bodies recovered; search operation on
