Rains shut markets

ess Trust of India / Mumbai July 28, 2005

The ONGC Mumbai offshore platform, located about 160 kms from the coast, had up to 300 people on board when the accident, apparently caused due to collision of a vessel docked nearby in high tide, took place at 1630 hours.

Petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said in New Delhi that three persons were confirmed dead and 45 people have gone missing when the platform, located about 160 kms from the coast, caught fire at around 1630 hours.

He said there were 385 people on the platform when the incident took place.

ONGC officials said 331 people have been rescued by coast guard and navy ships.

Swinging into immediate action, armed forces deployed three aircraft, four helicopters and eight ships to help in rescue and relief operations.

On the directions of defence minister Pranab Mukherjee to provide all possible help, a Sea King helicopter of the navy was pressed into operation with life rafts for rescuing the survivors, a defence ministry spokesman said.

One Dornier aircraft of the navy has also been pressed into service carrying life rafts, he added.

Eight ships of the navy and the coast guard have proceeded to the accident site, the spokesman said.

The air force deployed two AN-32 aircraft and three MI helicopters to assist in the rescue and relief operations.

ONGC chairman and managing director Subir Raha said the platform, which gathered oil from up to 20 wells and supplied 80,000 barrels per day, would take several months to return to normal production.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is scheduled to make an aerial survey of the flood affected areas of Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, is taking Aiyar along with him for a first hand assessment of the damage tomorrow.

This is the second major fire in four years at the Mumbai High fields.

Over 100 killed in Maharashtra rain-related incidents

The army, navy and air force were today pressed into relief and rescue efforts as the century's heaviest rains continued to batter Mumbai, Raigad and parts of Maharashtra's Konkan region claiming more than 100 lives so far.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said 99 people were killed in rains in the state. Mumbai and parts of Konkan region remained cut off from rest of the country.

In the worst-hit Raigad district, 45 people were killed, 22 in Mumbai, 16 in Navi Mumbai, six in Ratnagiri, eight in Thane and two in Beed, the Chief Minister said.

Police and fire brigade sources said 11 more people were killed in a wall collapse in suburban Andheri and in rain-related incidents in the city.

Rescue teams today managed to access Jui village of Raigad district where 100 people are feared killed in a landslide that razed 20 houses yesterday.

The country's financial capital remained totally paralysed as rains battered the metropolis for the second day bringing rail and air traffic to a halt.

Pointing out that such heavy rainfall has not occured in 100 years, Deshmukh said 5,000 personnel of the army, navy and air force joined rescue and relief operations in flood-hit areas and four naval helicopters were pressed into service in Raigad and Thane districts and Mumbai where a special navy helicopter was deployed for carrying diving teams with inflatable boats and rescue equipment in suburban Santa Cruz.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to make an aerial survey in Raigad and Thane districts tomorrow, official sources said.

Bourses closed

The stock exchanges have decided to close trading today as economic activity in the country