ROMA (ITALPRESS) – Two merchant ships were hit by drones in the exclusive economic zone of Bulgaria, in the Black Sea, about 80 miles from the coast. The Alfa Watan, general cargo flying the Togo flag, reported serious damage and subsequently sank to the east of Byala; operations are under way to ascertain the fate of the crew.
The second merchant, the Able, registered in Palau, was affected by a fire after the impact: the 18 crew members abandoned the ship and were recovered from the Bulgarian ferry Dioscuria, intervened in the area.
The government of Sofia convened an emergency meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, Interior and Transport, Presidency and security services. The Bulgarian authorities have not so far officially attributed the origin of drones. In the same hours an intense air activity was recorded also in the northern sector of the Black Sea.
The Romanian Ministry of Defence has announced that it has detected two targets in the Ukrainian air space near the border, having taken off two Spanish F/A-18s engaged in the Enhanced Air Policing Born from the base of Mihail Kogalniceanu. Bucharest has specified that no violations of its airspace have been detected.
The incident follows a few hours another serious episode in the Romanian exclusive economic zone, where the merchant Royad Mammadov, coming from Izmail and directed in Italy with a maize load, has sunk after a fire: two seamen are dead and eleven have been rescued. Kiev has attributed that attack to Russian drones, not initially confirmed by the Romanian authorities.
-Photos of repertoire IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
