Some 127 people were missing Tuesday, May 18, after the sinking of their boat off the coast of Bombay, in western India, following the passage of Cyclone Tauktae, said the Indian Navy.
Two of its ships and helicopters are currently helping with the search.
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The barge, which was carrying 273 people, was adrift on Monday, May 17, as strong winds hit the west coast of India.
146 passengers were rescued in extremely difficult sea conditions, the Navy said on Twitter.
Relief operations were to continue throughout the day, the defense ministry said, despite maritime conditions complicated by the extreme violence of the storm.
Tauktae, which has already killed at least 20 people and caused the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people, made landfall Monday, May 17 in Gujurat, in the form of an extremely violent cyclonic storm, with gusts reaching 185 kilometers per hour , according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
The most powerful tropical storm to hit the region in decades claimed victims in the western states of India, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, as formidably strong winds swept away the many settlements makeshift, uprooted trees and electricity pylons.