Eight crew missing after drone attack leaves tanker ablaze off Romania's coast
A search and rescue operation is under way in the Black Sea after the latest attack in the area.
Twelve crew members were aboard the Wine Trader, a tanker flagged to San Marino, when it was targeted by drones off Romania's coast on Thursday morning. The vessel, en route from Tunisia to Romania, reported blasts and fire at around 07:00 local time. Eight of the crew are now missing, as confirmed by Romanian President Nicușor Dan.
Romanian authorities have deployed two Black Hawk helicopters and two rescue boats for the ongoing search and rescue operation. The incident follows a series of drone attacks on Black Sea vessels, including two cargo ships near Ukraine's Snake Island and another near Bulgaria. Romania and Bulgaria are considering invoking Article 4 of NATO's treaty to consult over the potential threat to their territorial integrity and security.
The incident has heightened tensions in the region, with Ukraine and its European allies accusing Russia of targeting civilian and military vessels, while Moscow maintains it is only attacking ships carrying weapons and dual-use cargo to Ukrainian ports.
Written by urgent.news from BBC World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
