High-level Panel Probe Stranding of Barges In Arabian Sea

Three barges of Afcons, a contractor working on ONGC fields off the west coast with more than 600 people on board, were stranded in offshore areas during the severe cyclone.

The oil ministry on Wednesday constituted a high-level committee to enquire into the sequence of events leading to the stranding of three vessels of a contractor of ONGC in cyclone ''Tauktae''. Three barges of Afcons, a contractor working on ONGC fields off the west coast with more than 600 people on board, were stranded in offshore areas during the severe cyclone. "The stranding, drifting and subsequent events have led to loss of several lives," a ministry statement said without giving details. A committee comprising Amitabh Kumar, Director General of Shipping; SCL Das, Director General of Hydrocarbons, and Nazli Jafri Shayin, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence has been constituted to investigate the incidents.