Barge P305 and Varaprada - both support vessels working for the state-run ONGC's offshore oilfields near Mumbai – had borne the brunt of cyclone Tauktae, which made landfall on Gujarat coast on May 17.
All three senior officials are executive directors in charge of drilling, safety and executive exploration, respectively. They have been suspended to conduct a fair and free investigation issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
A ship approaching the shore has been trapped due to cyclone Tauktae in Palghar, Maharashtra. The ship has 80 thousand liters of diesel. Oil is continuously leaking from the ship. There is a possibility of major loss due to oil leakage.
Speaking to India TV, missing Engineer Saurabh Jain's father accuses ONGC for the accident.
The Indian Coast Guard said a "silvery oil sheen" of 50 metres in width was spotted and all precautions are being taken. The spill had not reached the shore, it added.
Cyclone Tauktae made landfall in Gir-Somnath district on the night of May 17 and affected several parts of Gujarat for over 24 hours before moving towards Rajasthan.
On Sunday, the IN announced that a total of 86 bodies have been recovered from the Arabian Sea so far, including 70 from the two vessels that went under and 16 which were washed ashore on Maharashtra and Gujarat coasts.
All the 274 personnel who were on board barge P305 that sank and tugboat Varaprada that went adrift during Cyclone Tauktae fury have been accounted for with the recovery of 16 bodies along Maharashtra and Gujarat coasts.
Barge Papaa-305 and tugboat Varaprada sank in the Arabian Sea during the cyclone fury and a total of 86 crew members and oil workers died.
Eight unidentified bodies were found at three different locations along the coast in Maharashtra's Raigad district and the police suspect they could be of some of the victims of barge P305.
Around 61 bodies of cyclone Tauktae have been handed over to the Mumbai Police by Indian Navy. "61 bodies of cyclone Tauktae victims have been handed over to the Mumbai Police.
Maharashtra Police and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) set up help desk at JJ hospital for families or relatives of the deceased and missing persons who were part of Barge P-305 crew. One of the missing persons relative Karamjeet Singh said," I've come from Punjab, looking for my cousin Baljinder Singh. He couldn't be identified amid the bodies".
Amid opposition BJP’s criticism over the duration of his visit to cyclone-hit Konkan region of Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that he was at least taking stock of the situation on the ground and not conducting an aerial survey in a helicopter.
The Navy on Saturday deployed specialised diving teams to boost the search and rescue operations (SAR) off Mumbai coast.
He said 25 houses were completely destroyed, of which 22 were pucca dwellings, most of them in Ambernath, and the total loss on this account was in the range of Rs 24 lakh, he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is on a tour of cyclone Tauktae-hit Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts in the Konkan region
49 bodies have been recovered so far and 26 people are still missing five days after the cyclone. The Indian Navy is continuing to lead search and rescue efforts.
A person, rescued from one of the three barges that adrifted after being smashed by the severe cyclone, said that while other barges started to move out of the path of the cyclone when they received warning, the Master of P-305 hardly moved 200 metres from its location near Heera oilfield in the Arabian Sea.
As per a rough estimate, around 3 lakh metric tonnes of salt, which was harvested and kept in the open near saltpans for transportation, was destroyed by gusty winds, rain and flooding in the LRK region, part of which falls in Surendranagar.
Cyclone Tauktae has worsened the situation, with majority of film sets in Maharashtra, Gujarat and areas damaged in a big way. If reports are to believed, the set of Ajay Devgn starter Maidaan has also faced the brunt of the cyclone.
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