Abhijith N Kolpe
With Pics & Inputs from Mohan Kuthar
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Jun 5: It was a nightmare for the 27 people who were aboard the barge when it started sinking in the Arabian sea off Ullal coast after hitting the rocks laid on reefs on Saturday June 3.
The 27 workers aboard the barge were involved in laying of the reefs to protect the seashore from violent waves as part of the project under the Asian Development Bank-funded sustainable coastal protection management.
Work has been in progress for the past two years where they had to upgrade the breakwater, forming of berms and third phase work was going on. About nine months back this 30 meter-long barge was brought from Mumbai. It was to return on June 4.
Shobhith
Speaking to daijiworld, Shobhith, one of the 27 who were stranded on the barge, said after being rescued, "The incident took place at around 4 pm on Saturday. Our barge smashed into the rocks which resulted in the breaking of the anchor and water started entering the barge. We took sometime to inform the Coast Guard as we thought we could control the situation, but when we realized it was impossible, we contacted them and even SOS signal was beamed. We also sent signal flares pleading for help. By night, four were rescued and due to weather conditions, it was impossible for the rescue team to help us during the night. So they had to return early morning at 5:45 am and rescue the remaining 23 people who were stranded on the barge."
"Though food was available in the barge mess, we did not dare go to the mess out of fear. We did not sleep the entire night. The others in the boat, hailing from others parts of India, were not familiar with the sea which all the more added to anxiety. We feared getting engulfed by the strong waves. I did my best to keep their morale high and was in contant touch with the authorities," he added.
One of the persons stranded in the barge, Abhay Singh, recalled that the barge had got struck between the rocks after its anchor was broken and that it was shaking violently because of strong wind and violent waves. "As water also was gushing into the barge from the breach, we thought we were going through the last moments of our life," he said. Abhay was in the last batch of eight occupants of the barge who were rescued by Jawed team from Tannirbavi which saved the group with the help of tubes.
Sanjay Mohan from Lucknow, who was hired to attend to cooking in the barge, said that the people were asked to wear their life jackets and reach higher points in the barge as it was sinking. "We felt the barge sinking on account of increased intensity of waves. Although three boats were sent by the company, they could not save us on account of inclement weather. Although we were frightened, we never lost hope of survival. I tried to make others laugh with the help of my friends by keeping them engaged in conversations," he explained.
Balwinder Singh from Shimla and Bhupender from Punjab said that they had feared for their lives after the three boats returned helpless to save them. Later four of their colleagues were rescued and rescue operation was discontinued for the night. They say they were taken over by acute fear because of choppy sea. On Sunday morning, they were saved by a joint operation of Coast Guard and Coastal Security Police. "It is true that we have been through hell. But we are determined to continue to work in the same field in future," they informed.
Tension loomed since Saturday afternoon and police personnel, Coast Guard and coastal security police had swung into action to rescue the stranded crew.
At around 6:30 pm on Saturday, the Coast Guard sent ICG Amartya from Suratkal for the rescue but unfortunately they could not go close to the barge due to hostile weather conditions. ICG Amartya had to monitor from a distance, duly keeping an eye at the barge. Soon they sent fibre boat to the stranded barge and rescued four persons in the first attempt. But the fibre boat too got damaged during the second rescue attempt. The operation was called off at night because of the strong winds and was resumed early this morning which resultled in rescuing of the remaining 23 occupants of the barge.
Speaking to daijiworld, superintending engineer, ports, Gopal Nayak said, "There were 27 occupants stranded in the barge. They were engaged in sea erosion project. We had to take the barge back to Mumbai, as work was completed on May 26. They tried to shift the barge. When returning they banged in to rocks which was laid on the reef and the anchor of the barge broke down resulting water seepage in large quantities into the barge which began to sink.
Minister for food and civil supplies, U T Khader, was unhappy at the fact that the barge remained in the sea even after several monsoon warnings were issued. He ordered deputy commissioner and the department of ports to conduct separate investigations to find out how the barge was allowed to remain in the sea in violation of these warnings.
A team of experts from Mumbai will be arriving at the spot on Monday June 5 to take stock of the situation by visiting the spot where the barge is stuck. The members of the team will be going to the spot with the help of Coast Guard immediately on their arrival here.
New Mangalore Port Trust does not have a tug with enough capacity to shift the sinking barge. As such, two tugs are being summoned from Mumbai in a bid to shift the barge that is also endangering the reef. The barge has suffered extensive damages, and if its fuel begins to leak, it will create lot of problems for the locals. As the sea water will get contaminated, aqua animals will face risk. This is the season in which the fishes lay their eggs, and fuel leakage, if ever it happens, will prove fatal for the fish breeding activity.
The barge in question, which was built in Singapore, is old. It was built at a cost of about Rs 33 crore. Equipment inside the barge are of very high value. Currently, a Hyderabad-based company is undertaking work with its help.