A merchant ship was attacked in the Black Sea, leaving 1 dead and 3 missing

China News Service, Beijing, October 23. News from Bucharest: According to Romanian media reports, a merchant ship flying the flag of the Comoros Islands was hit by a drone and sank in the Black Sea on the 23rd local time. One person was killed and three others were missing.

According to the Romanian News Agency and the Associated Press, the merchant ship caught fire about 13 nautical miles east of Constanta, Romania. The ship carried a total of 13 crew members, including 10 Ukrainians and 3 Azerbaijanis. Among the 13 crew members, 3 were missing, and the remaining 10 were rescued by another nearby merchant ship. One of them died and 9 survived.

Search and rescue operations are still ongoing.

Since the beginning of October, similar incidents have occurred many times in the Black Sea waters. On the 5th, a ship carrying grain caught fire and sank in the Black Sea, resulting in 2 deaths. On the 6th, two merchant ships were attacked by drones in the exclusive economic zone of Bulgaria's Black Sea. One of them sank and the crew members on board were missing. On the 13th, Bulgarian Prime Minister Radev said that two ships were attacked in the Black Sea. On the 15th, a ship caught fire in the Black Sea and 8 crew members were missing.

Reuters said Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria have called on NATO to take more measures to protect commercial shipping in the Black Sea.