Cyclone Tauktae: 26 People Still Missing, Navy Intensifies Rescue

Cyclone Tauktae: 26 people still missing, Navy intensifies rescue operations; Diving team leaves Mumbai coast.

Cyclone Tauktae has wreaked havoc in many cities. During this time a large number of people lost their lives and many went missing. The search operation to find the missing people has been intensified.

According to the report, 26 people are still missing. The Navy has deployed diving teams on the Mumbai coast on Saturday to boost rescue operations 6 days after the cyclone.

A Navy spokesperson tweeted that a special diving team was deployed on INS Makar with side-scan sonar and INS Tarasa to find the missing crew of the Barge P305 and the Tug Varaprada.

This team has been dispatched only this morning.

On Monday, the death toll onboard ship P305 in the Arabian Sea has risen to 60. Currently 11 more people are being searched. Officials said that the hope of survival of those missing due to this storm has diminished.

According to the Navy, its soldiers have so far saved 184 out of the 273 people on the barge P305 while battling extremely bad weather. All those on two other barges and one oil rig are safe.

Vice Admiral Muralidhar Sadashiv Pawar, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, said that this is the most challenging search and rescue operation in the last four decades.

Let us tell you that these gravels were trapped in the Arabian Sea near Mumbai a few hours before the cyclone hit the coast of Gujarat.

A Navy spokesman had said that 184 personnel on the P305 had been rescued till Wednesday morning. INS Kochi and INS Kolkata returned to Mumbai port with these people.

Search and rescue operations are underway with the help of INS Teg, INS Betwa, INS Beas, P81 aircraft and helicopters.