Owner of tugboat that sank during Tauktae booked
Barge P305 and Varaprada -- both support vessels working for the state-run ONGC’s offshore oilfields near Mumbai -- had borne the brunt of the cyclone, which made landfall on Gujarat coast on May 17.
A case of culpable homicide has been registered in Mumbai against the owner of Varaprada tugboat that sank in the Arabian Sea during last month’s Cyclone Tauktae, in which 11 persons were killed, an official said on Friday. Barge P305 and Varaprada -- both support vessels working for the state-run ONGC’s offshore oilfields near Mumbai -- had borne the brunt of the cyclone, which made landfall on Gujarat coast on May 17.
“At least 11 personnel, who were working on the tugboat, had died in the incident. During the rescue operation, two of its workmen were rescued by the navy teams,” the official said.
A first information report (FIR) was filed under sections 304(2) (culpable homicide) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the tugboat owner on Thursday at the Yellow Gate police station on the complaint of chief engineer of the boat and a survivor, he said.
Nobody has been arrested in this connection so far and the probe is underway, he added.
A total of 274 crew were reported missing on May 17 (261 from Barge P305 and 13 from Tug Varaprada). While 186 survivors from P305 and two from Varaprada were picked up at sea, 70 bodies were recovered by ships of the Indian Navy and coast guard. Besides, eight bodies were recovered along the coast in Raigad district of Maharashtra, officials had said.