Ship sinks, crew missing after new drone attacks on Black Sea vessels, Bulgaria says
Bulgarian officials say a merchant ship sank and its crew remains missing after drone strikes in the Black Sea, while the 18-member crew of a second, grain-carrying vessel hit nearby was rescued.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said two vessels were struck in the Black Sea in attacks involving both air and sea drones at around 3am local time, roughly 112km off the eastern coastal town of Byala, within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.
One of the ships, sailing under the flag of Togo, sank. A nearby Bulgarian vessel responded but found only an overturned boat, life rafts and life jackets at the scene. The number of crew on board and the nature of the cargo remain unknown, and a search operation is under way.
Second vessel's crew rescued
The second ship, which was carrying grain, had its full crew of 18 rescued, though two sailors were injured in an on-board fire. The crew included 11 Turkish and seven Indian nationals. Radev condemned the strikes as a flagrant violation of maritime law, calling an attack within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone absolutely unacceptable. He did not identify who was responsible.
The incident comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of striking a civilian vessel carrying corn. Russia has not commented on the latest attacks. A separate strike near Odesa on Tuesday, on a ship flying the Marshall Islands flag, killed one crew member and injured seven others.
The attacks come as Russia escalates strikes across the Black Sea as part of its war against Ukraine. Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday it would intensify strikes across Ukraine in response to Zelensky's comments about ramping up attacks on Russian oil refineries. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
