Bulgaria ends search for missing crew after drone strike sinks cargo ship

Bulgarian authorities have terminated their search efforts after confirming that no survivors were found after a drone strike sank a cargo ship off the country's coast. Drones targeted two commercial vessels early Tuesday as attacks on Black Sea shipping escalate due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. One vessel caught fire, while the other sank.

"There is no trace of the sailors," Rumen Nikolov, head of the Bulgarian Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, informed reporters on Wednesday. The search concluded late Tuesday and will not resume, he added. Eighteen Turkish and Indian crew members were rescued from the burning ship, but the crew from the sunken vessel remains missing.

Authorities have yet to disclose the exact number of missing individuals, but Maritime.bg reports that ten people were on board the ship. Nikolov stated that the incident occurred within a "responsible search and rescue zone" and not within Bulgaria's territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles offshore. "What was recovered from the sunken ship included an overturned boat, three life rafts, and debris from the ship's equipment floating on the sea's surface," he explained.

When asked if any debris from the drones had been recovered, Nikolov stated: "I have no information about drone debris." Prime Minister Rumen Radev described the attack as "absolutely unacceptable."