ONGC Suspends 3 Executive Directors Amid Probe Over Sunken Barge P-305 Which Claimed 86 Lives

Three executive directors of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) were suspended as part of an ongoing probe over the sunken barge in Arabian sea

188 people were rescued from the sunken barge. (Images: PTI)

Mumbai: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has suspended three executive directors following the ongoing high-level probe into the chain of incidents at Bombay High during Cyclone Tauktae that led to the death of 86 workers in the Arabian Sea and risked the lives of many.

The decision by ONGC comes days after ABP News raised the issue to take action on those who are at fault in the barge P305 incident during Cyclone Tauktae.

Barge P-305 sank off the Mumbai coast on May 16 as the powerful cyclone intensified and passed through the Mumbai coast towards Gujarat.

On Tuesday, quoting an unnamed official, news agency PTI reported that Captain Rakesh Ballav of the barge P-305 is missing since his ill-fated boat sank.

A total of 274 crew members were reported missing on May 17, which included 261 from the barge and 13 from tug Varprada.

As soon as the news broke out, a huge rescue operation mounted by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard managed to rescue 628 people from various locations in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai.

The three senior officials are executive directors in charge of drilling, safety and executive exploration, respectively.

According to reports, the three officials have been suspended to conduct a fair and free investigation issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

So far, the Indian Navy has been to rescue at least 188 people who were on board the barge.

The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard have meanwhile found 70 bodies, while eight bodies each were recovered along the coast at adjoining Raigad district and Valsad in Gujarat following which all the missing persons were accounted for, the official had said.

(With PTI inputs)