Officials said the Indian navy ship had collected 22 bodies. The ship sank on a barge in Mumbai this week when it was blown ashore by a hurricane in Mumbai.

Navy spokesman Mehul Karnik said on Wednesday that the search continues to find 55 missing persons.

He said that the three ships and helicopters involved in the search rescued 184 people in the choppy seven-meter (25-foot) deep sea.

Hurricane Tauktae is the strongest storm to hit the area in more than two decades. It reached ashore in Gujarat State at speeds of 210 kilometers (130 miles) per hour on Monday night. The storm caused more than 50 deaths in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

After being rescued from a sunken barge in the Arabian Sea, members of the Indian Navy transported the personnel to an ambulance [Indian Navy/Handout via Reuters]

Naval Commander Alok Anand said that the weather has improved since then and the search for missing persons has been strengthened.

A survivor told the NDTV news channel that he jumped into the sea with a life jacket and was later captured by the navy.

The government said in a statement that in another operation, a naval helicopter rescued 35 crew members of another barge, GAL Constructor, which ran aground in northern Mumbai.

Both barges work at Oil and Natural Gas Corp., India’s largest crude oil and natural gas company.

The company said that the barge was transporting people for offshore drilling and their anchors were released during the storm. India’s largest offshore oil rig is located near Mumbai.

Indian newspapers reported that a hurricane in Gujarat State, the hometown of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, destroyed more than 16,000 houses, and an aerial survey was conducted on the storm-hit area on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Narendra Modi) #CycloneTauktae Disaster areas in Gujarat and Diu

The Prime Minister is conducting aerial surveys in Una, Diu, Jafarabad and Mahuva today. He will also hold a review meeting in Ahmedabad later. pic.twitter.com/fJMJFDZJsf

-ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2021

The storm has put pressure on the Indian authorities as they are struggling to cope with the massive increase in coronavirus infections and deaths, as well as the shortage of hospital beds and oxygen.

Authorities said that in Gujarat, one of the states worst hit by the second wave of coronavirus, the cyclone destroyed power towers, destroyed about 16,500 houses, and blocked more than 600 roads.

The state’s agricultural sector may also be hit, including Saurashtra, where mangoes are grown.

Officials said that the restoration of power supply and unobstructed access roads are underway, but certain parts are still being cut off.

Aayush Oak, a senior official in the Amreri district of Gujarat, told Reuters: “Mobile phone networks are still paralyzed in many areas, and I don’t think they will be restored today (Wednesday).”

The Indian Meteorological Department said on Wednesday that the storm had weakened into a depression centered in southern Rajasthan and adjacent to Gujarat.

In neighbouring Nepal, authorities require climbers to descend from high altitudes because the storm may bring bad weather.

This month, hundreds of climbers, guides and staff are trying to climb various mountains in Nepal, and high altitude areas are usually the most favorable weather. Nepal has 8 of the 14 highest peaks in the world, including Mount Everest.

The Nepal Tourism Authority asked climbers and outfitting companies to monitor the weather and stay safe on Tuesday.

In 2014, blizzards and avalanches caused by hurricanes in India killed 43 people in the mountains of Nepal in the worst hiking disaster in the Himalayas.

It is believed that a blizzard was blown from the tail of the cyclone that hit the Indian coast a few days ago.

Snowstorms swept the popular Annapurna hiking trail, and hikers were caught off guard when the weather changed rapidly.