Responding to SOS calls from boats that are stranded at sea in the middle of cyclone TauktaeThe Indian Navy has put its warships and air cargo into action for rescue missions. The Navy received a request for support for the ‘P305’ barge, which was hauled away from the Heera oil fields in the Bombay High area with 273 people on board.
Following the request, the The Indian Navy sent INS Kochi for search and rescue (SAR) support. INS Talwar is also preparing to disembark to join the rescue mission.
The Indian Navy said several other ships and planes had been prepared for rescue operations after cyclone Tauktae.
Meanwhile, INS Kolkata was dropped off in response to an SOS call from Barge ‘GAL Constructor’ with 137 people on board. The boat is approximately 8 nautical miles from Mumbai.
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The two barges with 410 people on board had moved off the coast of Mumbai when cyclone Tauktae intensified into a very severe cyclone storm on Monday. It is expected to reach the Gujarat coast by tonight.
A second barge carrying 137 people is also 8 nautical miles from Mumbai. The destroyer INS Kolkata was used there for search and rescue. pic.twitter.com/expup91JJp
– Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) May 17, 2021
Helicopter put into action
Earlier in the day, a naval helicopter was dispatched to rescue stranded crew members on an Indian boat floating in the Arabian Sea. The tugboat ‘Coromondel Supporter XI’, which is flying the Indian flag, was located northwest of Mangalore in Karnataka.
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The Navy said the rough seas due to cyclone Tauktae flooded the ship’s engine rooms, leaving it without propulsion or power and the crew without assistance. “Four rescued employees were taken to a nearby Coast Guard ship.”
View from the coast guard dinghy approaching the stranded tug: pic.twitter.com/GPHAsleM0q
– Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) May 17, 2021
Luftwaffe in action too
On Sunday, the Indian Air Force deployed two C-130J and one An-32 aircraft to transport 167 employees and 16.5 tons of NDRF cargo from Kolkata to Ahmedabad.
Another C-130J and two An-32 aircraft carried 121 NDRF employees and 11.6 tons of cargo from Vijayawada to Ahmedabad to help local authorities prepare for Cyclone Tauktae.
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In addition, two C-130J aircraft transported 110 employees and 15 tons of cargo for NDRF from Pune to Ahmedabad.
Latest news on Cyclone Tauktae
As cyclone Tauktae passed the coast of Maharashtra on Monday morning and approached Mumbai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport announced it would cease operations from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Storm winds, heavy rains, and high tidal waves swept the coastal belts of Maharashtra and Goa as cyclone Tauktae sped north towards Gujarat.
The cyclone storm will continue to intensify and Reach the Gujarat coast by Monday evening, the India Meteorological Department said.
ALSO READ | Cyclone Tauktae hits Gujarat coast tonight; moved over 1 lakh people
“The very severe cyclone storm ‘Tauktae’ (pronounced as Tau’Te) over the eastern Central Arabian Sea moved in the past six hours at a speed of about 20 km / h from north to northwest and intensified into an extremely severe cyclone storm,” so the cyclone warning department of the IMD said
“It is very likely that it will move north-north-west in the evening hours of the 17th and reach the Gujarat coast, and the Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Porbandar by the night (2000-2300 hours IST) on May 17th Mahuva (Bhavnagar District) crosses severe cyclone storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 155-165 km / h to 185 km / h, “he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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