The Mumbai Police on Friday registered a case against the captain of the barge Pappa-305 or P305 which sank in the Arabian Sea during Cyclone Tauktae.
As many as 51 lives were lost in the incident that took place on Monday. The captain was booked on the basis of the complaint of rescued barge chief engineer Rahman Shaikh.
Faced with high-speed winds and a swelling sea, the ill-fated barge, with 261 crew members onboard, lost its anchors and smashed into an unmanned platform, before sinking into the Arabian Sea. According to a survivor, this happened after its captain ignored weather warnings and chose not to move the vessel away from the path of the severe cyclonic storm.
Mumbai’s Yellow Gate police station registered the case under sections 304(II) (an act done with knowledge that it is likely to cause death), 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
With the blame game on the issue intensifying, an ONGC official has stated that there were 99 floating rigs and barges at the location and only five were in trouble. This shows that the operators may be at fault, he said.
ONGC also claims that it had taken all necessary steps and followed all safety protocols after the warning by the Coast Guard. “That’s why around a hundred vessels working in that vicinity have been saved and there is no casualty. The damage occurred only to the three contracted (charter-hired) vessels where safety is the contractor’s responsibility. ONGC had asked them to follow the SOP (standard operating procedure). We are awaiting the findings of the investigation ordered,” said an official.
Meanwhile, ONGC has announced financial aid of Rs. 1 lakh for the injured and Rs. 2 lakh for the families of the deceased. “ONGC management has decided to extend an immediate relief of Rs. 1 lakh to the survivors and Rs. 2 lakh for BNV’s and missing persons’ families. ONGC has also set up a helpdesk to extend help. ONGC will facilitate the dependent families of the rescued crew in providing logistics and expenses,” said the official.
ONGC also shared helpline numbers for the families of persons onboard Barge P-305 to get information. This action also received criticism as it was taken four days after the incident. Till now, families had been unable to contact the company and could not find details of their loved ones.
The search operation for the missing persons entered its fifth day on Friday. The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard have rescued 188 crew members and recovered 51 bodies so far. Out of the rescued members, 186 are crew members of P305 and two are crew members of a tug boat Varaprada, which too went missing during the cyclone.