Cyclone Tauktae: 53 bodies of victims, who were on board, identified and handed over

Owing to cyclone Tauktae last week, barge P-305 and MV Varaprada sank in the Arabian Sea. Due to this, many navy personnel lost their lives.

According to the latest report, 53 bodies of the victims, who were on board, have been handed over to their respective families by yellow gate police and local police in Gujarat and Daman.

In all, there were 261 people on board barge P-305. Of them, 186 were rescued by last Tuesday. Seventy bodies were recovered from the sea, of which 50 have been identified as the crew members of barge P-305.

Besides, of the 13 crew members of MV Varaprada, two were rescued. While three bodies have been identified and the remaining eight still remain to be missing or unidentified that came ashore in Raigad, Maharashtra. 

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Nine bodies have been found on the banks of Gujarat, seven near Valsad in Gujarat, one on the banks of Daman and one near Palghar. Of these, 2 bodies have been identified from Valsad and Daman.

The police are hopeful of identifying them from the remaining 15 bodies recovered in Raigad and Gujarat.

On Monday, May 24, the INS Makar spotted the wreck of MV Varaprada, but until late at night, divers could not find any bodies in it. Also, no more bodies were found in the sea. An Indian Navy official said rescue operations are almost over and could be called off soon.

Sources said that many bodies have rotted due to salted seawater, hence it is difficult to identify them. It is learned that the dead will be identified on the basis of a DNA test. All bodies are accounted for and a final statement will be issued only after all of them are identified.

As per researchers, Tauktae is most likely the first extremely severe cyclone with wind speeds of over 200 kmph to reach near Mumbai’s coast for the past 130 years.

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