Hopes Fade for 26 Missing After Barge Sinks in India Storm

NEW DELHI - Rescuers recovered 12 more bodies on Thursday as hopes faded for 26 people still missing after a barge with 261 onboard sank off Mumbai when a powerful cyclone lashed the region this week, officials said.

The last of 186 survivors were rescued Wednesday, and since then navy rescuers using five warships, a surveillance aircraft and three helicopters have found only floating bodies, navy spokesperson Cmdr. Mehul Karnik said. A total of 49 bodies have now been recovered since the search was launched Monday, he said. Most of the survivors and bodies have arrived in Mumbai, he said. Indrajeet Singh, a survivor, recalled that everyone on the large barge rushed to the deck sensing danger during the storm. Water gushed into the barge and it started tilting, The Hindustan Times newspaper quoted him as saying.