NEW DELHI, 20 May, 2021 (TON): 37 dead bodies have been recovered by Indian Navy from the coast of India's Mumbai city where a barge P305 with 261 people on board sank in Arabian Sea on Monday during a severe cyclone.

The death toll is expected to rise as rescue operations continue. At least 53 people are still missing.

A navy warship returned to the city's harbour on Wednesday with some of the 186 survivors rescued so far.

Thirty-five people have also been rescued from another of the three other barges stranded due to cyclone Tauktae.

The cyclone weakened after it made landfall on Monday, but at least 19 people are confirmed as having died on land in the storm.

The barge was working on a project for India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). It was carrying personnel deployed for offshore drilling. When the storm struck, the barge's anchors gave way and it began drifting.

"We're still looking out for people in the area. We should be optimistic. Right now the conditions have improved. Hopefully, the worst is behind us," Captain Sachin Sequeira, commanding officer of the INS Kochi warship, said while talking to a news agency.

After receiving distress calls from the barge also called Papaa-305 (P305), the navy's ship sailed under difficult weather conditions.

The Indian military is continuing search and rescue operations for a third day after a deadly cyclone left scores missing and stranded at sea.

The navy had mounted a massive air and sea rescue mission for the missing oil workers, which has been hampered by huge waves.

About 200,000 people were evacuated across several states as the cyclone approached, bringing with it heavy rains and gusty winds.

Tropical Cyclone Tauktae made landfall as a category 3 cyclone on the southern coast of Gujarat on the night of 17 May. Before making landfall, Tauktae brushed India’s west coast over the weekend, causing damage in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra.