Mumbai: With 49 people on board a barge that sank in the Arabian Sea 4 days ago still missing out on, Indian Navy ships overcame the night, using searchlights to trace any motion in the pitch dark waters, as hopes of finding more survivors started to recede on Thursday.The Navy on Thursday morning released a fresh aerial search and rescue mission, releasing helicopters to scour the waters off Mumbai coast, where the accommodation barge P305 went adrift in Cyclone Tauktae fury prior to it sank Monday.

As numerous as 26 personnel on board the barge are dead and 49 still missing, after Navy workers, battling severe weather, so far rescued 186 of the 261 people who were on board the barge P305 and two personnel from tugboat Varaprada.Naval ships INS Kochi on Wednesday morning and INS Kolkata late Wednesday night brought the bodies of the Brave Nature's Victims to Mumbai, the spokesperson told PTI.Chances of discovering more survivors are looking bleak, a main said.Mumbai police have revealed they will carry out a probe as to why the unfortunate barge stayed in the turbulent area regardless of warnings about cyclone Tauktae, an official stated.

They signed up an accidental death report (ADR) on Wednesday in connection with the death of the workers on the barge.

The Navy's Search and Rescue (SAR) operations entered the fourth day today.

Naval ships and aircraft are presently undertaking SAR of the missing out on team members of Accommodation Barge P-305, which sank on Monday 35 miles off Mumbai, a Navy representative said.Navy ships INS Kochi, INS Kolkata, INS Beas, INS Betwa, INS Teg, P8I maritime security aircraft, Chetak, ALH and Seaking helicopters are associated with the SAR operations, he said.Another Navy ship INS Talwar was the 'On Scene Organizer' off Gujarat coast and helped Support Station 3 (SS-3) and Drill Ship Sagar Bhushan, which were being securely pulled back to Mumbai by ONGC assistance vessels, he stated.

Navy ships were deployed on Monday after the Navy was informed that barge 'P305' had actually gone adrift off the Heera oil fields in Bombay high area with 261 workers on board.

The oil fields are around 70 km southwest of Mumbai.