Two Keralites among 37 dead in Mumbai ONGC barge capsize
KALPETTA/KOTTAYAM: Two Keralites are among the 37 people who died after Pappa (P305), an oil field accommodation barge of the ONGC, sunk midsea as high tidal waves unleashed by Cyclone Tauktae smashed into the Mumbai High Oilfield. According to sources, Jomish Joseph Punnamthanam, 35, a resident of Eachome in Panamaram panchayat of Wayanad district and Sasin Ismail, 29, of Arinjidath house at Chirackadavu panchayat in Kottayam are the Keralites who have died in the incident. Relatives of Jomish have received a confirmation message from the ONGC. Jomish was an employee of Boustead Control and Electrics.
“He along with his wife and children is settled in Delhi. He went to Mumbai on April 5 to join duty at the oil field. We received a message from him on Saturday, after which there was no communication. On Wednesday we saw the news of accident and tried to contact his colleagues and company officials. On Thursday morning we received official confirmation about his death from the company. My son was planning to visit us by May end after his work in Mumbai,” said Joseph, father of Jomish. His wife is working as a nurse in Delhi.
Sasin Ismail, 29, was working as project engineer in P-305 barge, which reportedly sank in turbulent sea as Cyclone Tauktae set off huge tidal waves. Sasin’s relatives received a communication from Afcons Infrastructure Ltd confirming his death. He had joined the project three years ago. He is survived by father A M Ismail, mother Silvy Ismail and siblings Sisina and Misina.
According to the ONGC, five vessels carrying 714 personnel faced adverse sea conditions following the cyclone.While 628 people were safely rescued and evacuated, 37 people are missing. There were 261 personnel in construction barge P-305. The workers decided to stay nearby the platform when cyclone hit. However, the anchors gave away and the barge started drifting. It hit one unmanned platform and capsized. The Navy rescued 186 people and recovered the bodies of 49 people. The search for 26 missing people is on.There were 13 personnel in Varaprada, anchor handling boat. Two persons have been rescued while search for the remaining 11 crew is continuing.