Rescue operations suspended off Bulgaria’s coast after no survivors located following Black Sea drone assault that struck two vessels.
Published On 7 Oct 2026
Bulgarian authorities have concluded search and rescue operations after confirming no survivors were located in the aftermath of a drone strike that sank a cargo ship in the Black Sea.
Early Tuesday, drones targeted two commercial vessels as attacks on Black Sea shipping continue to escalate amid the intensifying Russia-Ukraine conflict. One vessel caught fire while the other sank following the assault.
“There is no trace of the sailors,” stated Rumen Nikolov, head of Bulgaria’s Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, during a press briefing on Wednesday.
The search operation was discontinued late Tuesday and will not resume, Nikolov confirmed.
Eighteen Turkish and Indian crew members were successfully rescued from the burning vessel, though the crew from the sunken ship remains unaccounted for. Authorities have not disclosed the exact number of missing personnel, but the specialized maritime website Maritime.bg reports that 10 individuals were aboard the doomed vessel.
Nikolov explained that the incident occurred within a designated “responsible search and rescue zone” rather than within Bulgaria’s territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles from the coastline.
“What was recovered from the sunken vessel included one overturned boat, three life rafts, and debris from the ship’s equipment floating on the sea surface,” he reported.
When questioned about whether any drone remnants had been recovered, Nikolov responded: “I have no information regarding drone debris.”
Prime Minister Rumen Radev has condemned the attack as “absolutely unacceptable.”
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also publicly denounced the incident.
Bulgarian officials have stated that they have not yet determined the origin of the drones involved in the attack.
Nikolov reported that a distress beacon from the sinking ship was received at 2:54 AM on Tuesday (23:54 GMT on Monday), while the second vessel’s distress signal arrived at 3:23 AM (00:23 GMT).
According to the Equasis merchant shipping database, both commercial vessels were managed by companies based in Türkiye.
The attacks occurred approximately 80 nautical miles (150 kilometers) east of the Bulgarian coastal town of Byala.
These strikes followed another incident the previous day, when a vessel caught fire and sank off the Romanian coast on Monday, resulting in two fatalities. Ukraine has attributed that drone attack to Russia.