Bulgarian prime minister says 2 commercial vessels hit by drones in economic zone
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said two commercial vessels were hit Tuesday by drones in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Radev said after a government emergency meeting that the ships were attacked by several drones about 80 miles (128 kilometers) off Bulgaria’s coast.
One of the ships, the Alfa Watan, which flew the flag of Togo, suffered critical structural damage and sank on the spot. There was no immediate information about the fate of the crew, he said.
The second vessel, the Able, which was flying the Palau flag, caught fire after the attack. The entire crew of 18 was evacuated by a Bulgarian ferry. Two of the sailors suffered severe injuries and were flown to a hospital in the port city of Varna, Radev said.
The origin of the drones was not immediately established.
This was the first attack on shipping in the NATO member’s economic zone in the Black Sea.
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