8 days on, Navy calls off SAR op for barge P305 and tugboat Varaprada

The Indian Navy on Monday evening called off the eight-day search and rescue (SAR) operation for missing crew members of barge Papaa305 (P305) and tugboat Varaprada, which capsized in the Arabian Sea last Monday, hours after extremely severe cyclone Tauktae hit the Mumbai coast

The Indian Navy on Monday evening called off the eight-day search and rescue (SAR) operation for missing crew members of barge Papaa305 (P305) and tugboat Varaprada, which capsized in the Arabian Sea last Monday, hours after extremely severe cyclone Tauktae hit the Mumbai coast. Meanwhile, three of the eight bodies that drifted ashore in Valsad and Daman in Gujarat have been identified as crew members of Varaprada. The toll of the P305 tragedy remains 70 and the Varaprada incident three.

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On Monday morning, the Navy located Varaprada on the seabed, about 20 nautical miles away from Mumbai, following a thorough search using advanced side sonar of INS Makar. “The Navy sent its special diving team in search of crew members, to check if any of Brave Nature’s victims were trapped on the tugboat,” said commander Mehul Karnik, chief public relations officer of the Western Naval Command. “The diving team did not find any crew member trapped, after which Naval officials decided to call off the SAR.” The Navy then withdrew their assets from the SAR in Heera oil fields in the Arabian Sea.

The tugboat sank on May 17, when it was returning to Mumbai harbour. The incident came to light after INS Kolkata rescued two crew members of the tug, while on their way to the search and rescue for barge P305. Barge P305 was deployed at an unmanned platform in Heera oil fields, one of the largest ONGC rigs in the Arabian sea. It was anchored about 200m away from the platform when the cyclone hit the Mumbai coast. The barge got de-anchored in the night of May 16, and hit a platform while drifting in the rough sea. It eventually sank around 7pm on May 17, with 261 on-board. The rough weather and very choppy sea made the Navy’s search and rescue operation one of the most challenging operations undertaken by them in four decades.

The Navy succeeded in rescuing 186 crew members of P305 and has so far recovered bodies of 70 others during the search. The barge was also located on the seabed in Heera oil fields, but the diving team did not find any body trapped inside. Meanwhile, Yellow Gate police said so far 48 of the 70 bodies have been identified by their relatives. The process of identification of the remaining 22, to find the five missing P305 crew members, is on. The police will also go for DNA fingerprinting, as some of the bodies are decomposed.

The agencies claimed on Sunday that they found 17 more bodies over the past two days at different beaches in Raigad district, Palghar and Valsad at Gujarat. Officials said seven bodies were recovered from Valsad, one from Daman, one from Arnala beach in Palghar district and eight bodies were found at Alibag, Murud, Nagaon and Sasawne in Raigad district. Of the eight bodies found at Gujarat and Valsad, three were found to be crew members of Varaprada. The remain bodies are being checked to find the 8 missing people from the tugboat.

The body of Nagendra Prajapati, 59, the captain of the tugboat, was identified by his elder brother Surendra, 61, who came from Lucknow on Monday. Surendra identified his brother’s body on the basis of his wrist watch and gold ring. The body was found by local residents of Bhagal village when it landed ashore on May 21, said a police officer.

Another body of Umed Singh, 59, who was working as a second engineer on Varaprada, was identified by his elder brother Rajkumar Singh, 63, on Sunday. Rajkumar came from Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh after the company informed him about the incident. Aadhaar, election card, mobile phone and bank debit cards were found in his pockets. The third body, of Saddam Hussein Ejaz Ahmed, 29, who worked as an electrician on Varaprada, was identified by his elder brother Azad who lives in Mumbai.