Brussels, Oct 6 : Terming attacks on civilian shipping 'unacceptable', European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said that situation in the Black Sea is becoming "increasingly concerning".
"Commercial ships – and innocent crews – are being targeted, with lives already lost at sea. Today, two commercial vessels were hit in Bulgaria's economic zone in Black Sea. This comes just one day after a Turkish ship carrying Ukrainian grain was struck and sunk off the Romanian coast," Von der Leyen stated on X.
"While exact circumstances of these incidents are still being established, the developments are very concerning. Attacks on civilian shipping are unacceptable. We stand in full solidarity with our Member States on the Eastern flank," she added.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said that drones sank one merchant ship and set another on fire in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria.
At around 3 am (0000 GMT), two merchant ships were attacked with sea and air drones around 70 nautical miles east of the town of Byala in the country's exclusive economic zone, Radev said at the beginning of a meeting with representatives of the Bulgarian institutions, Xinhua News Agency reported.
This was confirmed by eyewitnesses, Radev said.
The first ship, flying the flag of Togo, has sunk, and so far no people from the first ship have been found, Radev noted.
The second ship was on fire. The 18-member crew managed to evacuate and was rescued. There was one crew member with burns and one with a head injury. A naval ship picked them up to take them to hospital, Radev said.
The remaining 16 people of the second ship were unharmed. Eleven of these crew members were Turkish citizens, and the remaining seven were Indian citizens, he said.
As far as Bulgarian authorities knew, the second ship was loaded with wheat and was heading south, while the ship that sank was heading north, Radev said.
This was an absolutely unacceptable attack, Radev said, adding that Bulgaria would "do everything possible" to explore the entire area and, if possible, rescue survivors from the crew of the first ship.
–IANS
ksk/as
