New Delhi: The Indian Navy has located tugboat Varaprada at the seabed about 20 nautical miles away from Mumbai and sent their special diving team in search of any trapped crew members.
According to reports, Tug Varaprada was located during underwater search by INS Makar.
The tugboat had sank after Cyclone Tauktae hit Mumbai coast on May 17 morning when it was returning to Mumbai harbour.
The matter came to light after INS Kolkata rescued two of its crew members while on way to join an search and rescue operation for barge Papaa305 (P305).
Barge P305 was deployed at an unmanned platform in Heera oil fields, one of the largest ONGC rigs in the Arabian sea. It was anchored about 200 meters away from the platform when Cyclone Tauktae hit the Mumbai coast. As stormy weather hit the coast, the barge got de-anchored in the night of May 16, and hit a platform while drifting in the rough sea.
Water started entering from a side, as it got damaged and eventually sank around 7pm on May 17, with 261 members on-board.
