Ship sinks and crew missing after Black Sea drone attack

A civilian cargo ship has sunk and its crew is missing after being attacked by drones in the Black Sea, Bulgarian officials say.

A second vessel – carrying grain – was also hit within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. Its 18 crew were rescued.

Radev did not say who was behind the attacks, which come as Russia intensifies strikes in the Black Sea, particularly the eastern side, as part of its war against Ukraine.

Moscow has not commented on the latest incident, a day after it was accused by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of striking a civilian vessel carrying corn. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the attacks were “unacceptable”.

Air and sea drones were involved in the attacks at about 03:00 (23:00 GMT), some 70 miles (112 km) off the coastal town of Byala in eastern Bulgaria, Radev said.

The sunken ship was flying under the flag of Togo, he said. Named the Alfa Watan, it was a Turkish-owned general cargo ship and was reportedly heading for Sulina, Romania.

It is not clear what the Alfa Watan was carrying or how many people were on board.

A Bulgarian vessel was close by, but when they arrived all they saw was an overturned boat and rafts as well as life jackets. A search operation has been launched.

Radev said Bulgarian sailors had rescued the crew members from the second ship – including two who were injured in a fire on board. Eleven were Turkish and seven Indian nationals. That ship, the Able, was flying the flag of Palau and transporting grain.

Its last reported position was five nautical miles (9km) from the Alfa Watan.

Radev condemned the strikes as “a flagrant violation of maritime law”.

Credit: bbc.com

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