The Maharashtra Congress on Thursday demanded the resignation of Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on moral grounds over the death of 37 personnel on board a barge that sank in the Arabian Sea, and termed it as a "manmade tragedy".

The Navy on Thursday morning launched a fresh aerial search and rescue mission, deploying helicopters to scour the waters off Mumbai coast, where the accommodation barge P305 went adrift in Cyclone Tauktae fury before it sank on Monday.