Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev has lauded India’s search and rescue efforts during cyclone Tauktae, which has ravaged the west coast of India. The cyclone caused heavy damage in parts of Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka on Tuesday and impacted weather conditions deep inside India.
Commenting on Twitter, Kudashev said: "Deeply saddened to learn about human loss & destruction caused by cyclone Tauktae which struck the west coast of India. Admire heroic work of rescue forces. I'd like to convey words of sincere sympathy and support to families of the deceased and wish speedy recovery to injured".
Deeply saddened to learn about human loss & destruction caused by #CycloneTauktae which struck West coast of India. Admire heroic work of rescue forces. I would like to convey words of sincere sympathy & support to families of the deceased & wish speedy recovery to all injured pic.twitter.com/C3stkccoRa
— Nikolay Kudashev 🇷🇺 (@NKudashev) May 19, 2021
Ambassador Kudashev was referring to the massive rescue effort that had been taken up by Indian Naval Ships Beas, Betwa and Teg. The three ships had joined INS Kochi and Kolkata to rescue people from a barge which sank 35 nautical miles from Mumbai due to the cyclone fury.
The operation on Tuesday had also been augmented with P8I and naval helicopters, which continued to undertake aerial search in the area. Since the commencement of the SAR from PM 17 May 2021, 180 survivors had been rescued.
In another operation, an Indian Navy Seaking helicopter was launched to rescue crew of GAL Constructor, which ran aground North of Mumbai. The helicopter rescued 35 crew members of GAL Constructor, a defence ministry statement said.
SAR had also been launched off the coast of Gujarat for three vessels namely Support Station 3, Great Ship Aditi and Drill Ship Sagar Bhushan, which were located 15-20 nautical miles South East off Gujarat coast (Pipavav).
#CycloneTauktae #NationFirst @IndiaCoastGuard Chetak launched from Goa successfully rescued 02 DGLL employees stranded at Vengurla Rock Light House in a daring mission today amidst gusting winds and challenging weather conditions @DefenceMinIndia @shipmin_india @SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/jMrFvlIAP2
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) May 18, 2021
Later, INS Talwar also arrived in the area and took over the duties of 'On-Scene Coordinator' for coordination of the SAR effort. The Western Naval Command, in coordination with ONGC and DG shipping, has diverted five tugs to render assistance. Great Ship Aditi and Support Station 3 have been able to drop anchor. Meanwhile, OSV’s Samudra Sevak and SV Cheel were connected to manoeuvre Sagar Bhushan, in order to stabilise the situation.
Tauktae is one of the most powerful cyclones to have hit the Arabian Sea in decades. It has brought massive rains to the interiors of the country with Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh receiving heavy rainfall.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Gujarat to take stock of the situation in the aftermath of the destruction caused by the cyclone. It has wreaked a trail of havoc – damaging houses, uprooting electricity poles and trees and causing disruptions in power supply.
