Mumbai: The Navy said its personnel, battling extreme weather, have rescued 184 of the 273 people onboard Barge P305 so far, adding all personnel on board. Two other barges and an oil rig are safe after Cyclone Tauktae rendered these vessels adrift.“As of Wednesday morning, 184 personnel of barge P305 have been rescued and INS Kochi and INS Kolkata are returning to Mumbai harbour with the rescuees.”“INS Teg, INS Betwa, INS Beas, P8I aircraft and Sea King helicopters are continuing with the search and rescue operations,” said a Navy spokesperson.The official said that the Navy and Coast Guard had rescued all 137 personnel on barge GAL Constructor on Tuesday.Offshore vessels hired by ONGC and SCI towed the 196 personnel on Barge SS-3 and 101 personnel on board Oil Rig Sagar Bhushan to safety. He added that INS Talwar was also in the area to assist in the SAR (search and rescue) operations.The accommodation Barge P305 which was servicing ONGC’s offshore operations, sank on Monday evening, the official said He added that 184 of the 273 personnel on board have been rescued so far.Three barges and an oil rig with a total 707 personnel on board went adrift on Monday. These included barge P305 with 273 persons, cargo Barge GAL Constructor with 137 personnel, accommodation Barge SS-3 with 196 personnel and the Sagar Bhushan Oil Rig with 101 personnel on board, the official said.Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar said the ongoing SAR is among the most challenging search and rescue operations in the last four decades.Navy ships were deployed on Monday after receiving a request for assistance for Barge P305, adrift off Heera Oil Fields in Bombay High area. The oil fields are approximately 70km south-west of Mumbai.(PTI)