Wind gusts at nearly 100 km / h, ocean waves about 30 feet high and blinding rain are what Indian Navy personnel battled when carrying out rescue operations off the coast of Mumbai when cyclone Tauktae wreaked havoc.
The The Indian Navy sent its warship INS Kochi on a mission To rescue 273 crew members who were aboard a barge that sank in the Arabian Sea when cyclone Tauktae intensified.
The Navy has so far rescued 186 crew members of the unfortunate P-305 barge and recovered 26 bodies.
After having spent over 48 hours at sea conducting the rescue operation, INS Kochi returned to Mumbai on May 19 with the survivors. Other ships are now trying to find the crew members who have been built up.
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(Video courtesy of Twitter / ShivAroor)
In conversation with India Today TVCaptain S Siqueira, commander of INS Kochi, said with a wind speed of 60-70 km / h that the weather conditions were already difficult when the ship was in port. He said conditions became more difficult as the ship went into the deep sea.
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“We were exposed to gusts of winds close to 100 km / h, ocean waves around 30 feet and heavy rain that almost blinded us as we could barely see the front of the ship. The zero visibility and the strong waves made it very difficult maneuvering the ship. But the staff are trained to do that, ”he said.
Captain Siqueira added that while conditions were difficult, the Navy was not prepared for them.
Speaking of survivors aboard the launch, he said they showed “remarkable steadfastness”.
“Fortunately there was no serious medical situation when we rescued you. You showed remarkable steadfastness. You were at sea for a very long time in these conditions. You did well to stay afloat and we managed to pick you up” , he said.
INS Kochi has sought search and rescue assistance for a barge #Mumbai. The commanding officer INS Kochi, Captain S Siqueira, shared the details of the rescue operation @ AbhishekBhalla7 https://t.co/eyBOjTCDEC
More videos: https://t.co/FAHzdk9TO8 pic.twitter.com/im3uSRQm5N– IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) May 19, 2021
IN PICTURES | INS Kochi reaches the port of Mumbai, 184 employees were rescued from barge P305
Until last week, INS Kochi was part of Covid-19’s relief efforts, transporting medical oxygen containers from Kuwait to India. On Monday morning it was asked to be ready for the rescue mission and to move at short notice.
“This is the nature of maritime power that we have. We can switch from one role to another at short notice. We are trained to switch from one mode of operation to another,” said Captain Siqueira, adding that INS was sealed in only Kochi one hour after receiving the order for the mission.
Rescue operations off the coast of Mumbai in the Arabian Sea are ongoing while the Navy searches for it Around 50 people were missing on board the barge.
Aside from warships, the Indian Navy also relocated its air cargo to save the stranded people. “Flight operations become more sensitive in adverse weather conditions like these. The Navy had helicopters flying from bases in Mumbai and P8I, the Navy’s reconnaissance fly, from Arakulam in Tamil Nadu. They were able to search for people at sea,” said Captain Siqueira.
Search and rescue operations will continue off the coast of Mumbai and Gujarat and will begin on Thursday on the fourth day.
“INS Kochi, which came into port on May 19 to disembark 125 survivors and the remains of four crew members, was immediately sailed again that evening to continue the search,” the Indian Navy said in a statement.
Meanwhile, INS Kolkata is scheduled to call into the port of Mumbai tonight to disembark survivors rescued from barge P-305 and tug ‘Varapradha’, as well as the remains of 18 crew members who died during the operation were recovered.
Upon completion of its operations off the coast of Gujarat, INS Talwar was also diverted to assist the other three naval vessels in their search for missing crews on the P-305 launch off the coast of Mumbai.
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