{
  "id": 14166121,
  "title": "Eleven sailors missing after drone sinks ship off Bulgaria",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/eleven-sailors-missing-after-drone-sinks-ship-off-bulgaria-14166121",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-13T09:31:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40443987/eleven-sailors-missing-after-drone-sinks-ship-off-bulgaria"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bulgarian officials reported that eleven sailors were missing at sea on Tuesday after a drone attack sank a cargo ship off the coast of Bulgaria. This marks the second deadly sinking of a vessel in the region within a week, prompting the country to summon Russia's ambassador. The incident occurred overnight when two cargo ships were targeted by drones, with one sinking. While Bulgaria did not explicitly blame Russia, Prime Minister Rumen Radev acknowledged that the attacks may benefit the Russian Federation.\n\nBulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev condemned the attacks as \"absolutely unacceptable\" in a televised address. The EU and Ukraine also voiced their condemnation of the incidents. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the Black Sea has become a \"new front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine,\" and urged those responsible to be held accountable.\n\nUkraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha emphasized that the strikes once again demonstrate Moscow's disregard for civilian lives, warning that the Black Sea is being weaponized to control global food security. Bulgarian media reported that five crew members had been rescued, but 11 sailors were still listed as missing from the ship that sank off the coast of Krapets. The vessel in question was identified as the cargo ship Azov Concord, whose Turkey-based manager was unavailable for comment.\n\nMeanwhile, another ship, the Chelsea 3 sailing under Maltese flag, was also hit by three drones overnight, but all seven Ukrainian and eight Azerbaijani crew members were rescued with no serious injuries reported. The Black Sea has increasingly become a battleground in the ongoing war that Russia launched in 2022 with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Shipping in the region, which is home to some of the world's largest grain exporters, has become a crucial battle for economic endurance.",
  "summary": "SOFIA: Eleven sailors were missing at sea on Tuesday from a ship sunk by a drone attack off the coast of Bulgaria, the second deadly sinking of a cargo vessel in the area in a week, prompting Bulgaria to summon Russia’s ambassador. Two cargo ships were hit by drones overnight and one was sunk, Bulgarian officials said. Bulgaria stopped short of explicitly accusing Russia of carrying out the…",
  "key_points": [
    "Eleven sailors missing after drone attack on cargo ship off Bulgaria.",
    "Prime Minister Radev condemns attacks as \"absolutely unacceptable\"."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Eleven sailors missing after drone sinks ship off Bulgaria",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/eleven-sailors-missing-after-drone-sinks-ship-off-bulgaria",
        "published": "2026-10-13T09:14:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Eleven sailors missing after drone sinks ship off Bulgaria",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/eleven-sailors-missing-after-drone-sinks-ship-off-bulgaria-14166554",
        "published": "2026-10-13T09:26:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "DW News",
        "title": "Bulgaria condemns Black Sea drone attacks as Russia's war in Ukraine spills over into Eastern Europe",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/bulgaria-condemns-black-sea-drone-attacks-as-russias-war-in-ukraine",
        "published": "2026-10-13T10:15:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}