Bulgaria Calls Off Search for Crew After Black Sea Drone Strike Sinks Ship
Officials said the attack hit two ships, rescued one crew and left the other missing as Bulgaria weighs security concerns in the Black Sea.
- On Wednesday, Bulgaria halted its search for the missing crew of a ship that sank after a drone attack Tuesday about 130 km off the coast of Byala, Vice-Admiral Rumen Nikolov of the Maritime Administration Executive Agency told Nova TV.
- Early Tuesday, drones struck two ships in Bulgaria's Black Sea exclusive economic zone, sinking one and damaging another. Nikolov stated the incident occurred in a "responsible search and rescue zone" outside the country's 12 nautical mile territorial waters.
- Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev initially said it was unclear whether drones came from Russia or Ukraine, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later claimed an investigation with Bulgaria's navy confirmed Russia was responsible.
- Following the attack, Radev announced on Wednesday that his government would approve the purchase of five more surface-to-air missile systems to strengthen national defenses.
- Concerns about hybrid attacks by Russia in the Black Sea have intensified, as Bulgaria, a NATO member, holds a strategic position near major ports used by both Ukraine and Russia.
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The search for the ship's crew has been abandoned. The incident, which occurred off Byala, is the first of its kind in Bulgarian waters.
ledauphine.com
The Bulgarian rescuers stopped the search launched the previous day to try to find the missing crew of a commercial ship that sank Tuesday in the Black Sea after drone strikes, they said on Wednesday.
BULGARIA has suspended the search for the missing crew of a ship that sank after being hit by a drone, about 130 km from the Bulgarian coast, Vice Admiral Rumen Nikolov from the Maritime Administration told Nova TV.
Bulgaria has suspended the search for the crew of the cargo ship Alfa Watan, which sank in the Black Sea on Tuesday after a drone attack. Rescue teams have found some pieces of the ship's equipment, but have not found any trace of the sailors, Ukrinform reported.
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