Search operations are still on to locate 37 crew members who were onboard state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) vessels Papaa–305 construction barge and Varaprada, when they were hit by cyclone Tauktae.
According to a petroleum and natural gas ministry official, five vessels carrying 714 personnel were caught in the cyclone, of which 628 people were rescued and 49 bodies were recovered. These vessels were Sagar Bhushan drill ship, construction barges—Support Station-3, Gal Constructor and P-305—with Varaprada handling the anchor of Gal Constructor.
The anchors of most of the vessels gave way, with the towing line of Support Station-3 barge snapping away.
