When Papaa 305 turned topsy-turvy as the Tauktae cyclone passed by the ONGC’s Mumbai High oilfield, many of them on board the accommodation barge thought it was all over.
The rescue was nothing less than a movie sequence.
The barge sank on Monday night and many of the members with life jackets had to jump into the choppy Arabian Sea.
P-305 had 261 persons on board when it sent out a distress call after experiencing water ingress and flooding.
The vessel was well-equipped with safety apparatus including life jackets and life rafts for all persons on board.
"It was a horrific situation on the barge….I swam in the waters for seven to eight hours with the determination to stay alive and was ultimately rescued by the Navy," said workman Manoj Gite, who hails from Kolhapur.
"It is because of the Navy that we all are alive and safe today, otherwise, we don't know what would have happened to us," another worker said, thanking the Indian Navy for the rescue mission.
After the barge sank into the darkness of of the sea, everyone was scattered as huge waves threw them in different directions. “It was really difficult for us…we don’t know how we survived,” another survivor said recalling the dangerous situation for the oil industry workers.
It was an emotional moment for them as they touched the land after disembarking from INS Kochi that brought them to the Mumbai harbour.
Afcons together with its consortium partner Halani-Tes-Nauvata, has been working with ONGC for the revamp of its unmanned offshore platforms in the Arabian Sea. The chartered barge along with its marine crew was owned and operated by M/s Durmast Enterprises Limited.