Barge tragedy: 7 more bodies found on Valsad beach

Indian Navy`s diving teams board INS Makar to search for the missing crew of Barge P305 and Tug Varapradha. Pic/Twitter

The death toll on barge P305 and Tug Varapradha that sank in the Arabian sea during the cyclone rose to 70 on Sunday, with the recovery of seven more bodies since Saturday night, police said. The bodies were found on Tithal beach in Valsad, Gujarat.

On receiving the information from their Gujarat counterpart, city personnel from Yellow Gate police station rushed to Valsad. One of the deceased was wearing a life jacket. After the deceased are identified, the bodies will be handed over to their family Valsad itself, a city police officer told mid-day.

Mumbai police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner of Police Chaitnya S told mid-day, "A total of seven dead bodies were recovered at Valsad beach. Out of that, two bodies have been identified." The bodies were found on Tithal beach and near the coast of Dungri taluka.

Superintendent of Police, Valsad Rajdeepsinh Jhala told mid-day that the two bodies identified were of Captain Nagendra Kumar of Tug Varapradha and Umed Singh. Their families have been informed and work is underway to identify the other deceased people, the SP said.

Also Read: Barge Tragedy: Mumbai Police to carry out DNA testing on unidentified bodies

A spokesperson for the Indian Navy said that the search and rescue operation on the sunken wreck of barge P305 is complete and no bodies were found. Now, diving teams onboard INS Makar will proceed to locate the wreck of Tug Varapradha. The spokesperson added, "Search and rescue operations by ships and helicopters/aircraft will continue in the area to find the remaining crew of the sunken vessels."

NHRC takes suo motu note of barge tragedy

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Sunday issued notices to the Union Petroleum Ministry, the ONGC chairman, the director general of Indian Coast Guard and the director general of Shipping, Mumbai, in the wake of the barge tragedy. In a statement, it said, "Allegedly, the loss of precious lives could have been avoided, if all the involved agencies had followed standard safety regulations and protocols, both before and during the build-up of the cyclone."

"The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of a news article, carried on May 22, raising serious concerns on the rights of various seafarers in India that have resurfaced in the wake of the reported worst offshore disaster in the country..."

The commission has observed that it appears that the director general of Shipping, ONGC authorities and the Coast Guard were "aware that in the wake of Cyclone Tauktae, there was a potential danger to the lives of the workers onboard a dumb barge, but it seems that no effective steps were taken to bring the victims to safer places and they were left helpless. This is a serious case of violation of the right to life of the victims".

It has sought a detailed report within six weeks. The reports must include accurate data regarding persons onboard, steps taken after receiving an alert about the cyclone, persons missing, persons rescued till date with their health status as well as the status of the rescue operation as on date, it said.

The NHRC said it would also like to know about the status of the inquiry, reportedly ordered in the matter, the action taken against the responsible public servants and the relief granted to the next of kin of the deceased and to the injured workers.

The NHRC is of the opinion that the "safety of every seafarer must be valued, and the institutional distortions and procedural dissonances, if any, and as mentioned in the news article, must be set right to avoid such tragedies in future".