The police have arrested three people of Pappaa Management in Barge 305 drowning incident during cyclone Tauktae in May. More than 70 people lost their lives in the incident.
Barge P305, an accommodation barge of the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), capsized off Heera oil fields in Bombay High after the impact of Cyclone Tauktae broke its mooring and set it adrift. It was steadied later.
The bodies of all the missing crew members of Barge Papaa (P-305) and tugboat Varaprada were recovered, taking the death toll in the tragedy to 86.
A total of 274 crew members of P-305 and tugboat Varaprada (261 from P-305 and 13 from the tugboat) went missing after the two boats sank in the Arabian Sea after being hit by Cyclone Tauktae last week. The Navy and Coast Guard rescued 188 survivors, including two from Varaprada and recovered the mortal remains of 70 crew. Eight bodies each were recovered along the coast at Raigad district and the Gujarat coast near Valsad.
(With inputs from agencies)
