Romania blames Russia after drone sinks ship in the Black Sea
One sailor killed and three others missing after Comoros-flagged Khoryv hit near Romanian waters.
Romania has blamed Russia for a drone strike that sank a cargo ship off Romania’s Black Sea coast, killing one crew member and leaving three others missing.
It’s the latest drone attack targeting commercial shipping off the coasts of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria, with at least seven cargo ships hit and 30 sailors reported killed or missing in the past two weeks, raising fears of an escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The drone struck the Comoros-flagged vessel Khoryv and its crew of 13 Ukrainian and Azeri sailors on Friday, 13 nautical miles (24km) off Romania’s port of Constanta, just outside Romania’s territorial waters.
Nine sailors were rescued, three were missing and one body was recovered during a search and rescue operation hampered by poor weather conditions and low visibility, Romania’s naval authority said.