Drones strike two vessels off Bulgaria, sinking one

Two vessels were struck by drones off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast overnight on October 13, sinking one and damaging the other, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. The crew of the damaged vessel, the Chelsea 3, were evacuated, while rescue and casualty figures for the sunken ship differed among accounts. Radev said the Malta-flagged Chelsea 3 was hit by three drones about 18 nautical miles east of Byala. All 15 people aboard were rescued, and five received medical assistance. None was seriously injured, he said. The crew included seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijani nationals. A second vessel was hit about 17 nautical miles east of Krapets and sank, according to Radev. He said one crew member was rescued but did not provide a total for those aboard. Another report citing Bulgarian officials said five were rescued and 11 remained missing; a separate report put the number missing at 12. The reports did not resolve the differing figures. Bulgarian authorities had not established who was responsible for the attacks, Radev said, adding that there was no clear, conclusive evidence attributing them to either Ukraine or Russia.