More than 90 crew missing after Cyclone Tauktae sinks ship off the coast of Mumbai

A search and rescue operation is still underway after the Indian Navy rescued 177 of the 273 on board the vessel

By Joe Wallen in Mumbai *

A member of the Indian Navy helps a man to walk after he was rescued by Indian Navy personnel from a sunken barge in the Arabian Sea after cyclone Tauktae’s landfall

More than 90 people are missing after a commercial vessel that became unanchored during the strongest cyclone on India’s western coast in 20 years sank off the coast of Mumbai on Tuesday morning.

A search and rescue operation had been launched by the Indian Navy on Monday night for the 273 crew members of the “Barge 305” ship, which contained employees of the Indian state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), after wind speeds of 100 miles per hour had caused the boat to drift into the Arabian Sea.

But, the extreme weather conditions caused by Cyclone Tauktae hampered the rescue operation and only 177 of the crew were rescued before the boat sank.

A further three vessels, containing 700 crew members, are also stranded at sea in the wake of Cyclone Tauktae, although they are said to be in a safe condition.

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