Human remains found on drone-hit tanker towed to Bulgaria from off Romania
Prosecutors in Varna said human remains were found aboard a ship hit by a drone off Romania 15 days ago and taken to a Bulgarian shipyard for repairs.
Human remains have been found aboard a ship that was hit by a drone off Romania's coast 15 days ago and later moved to a Bulgarian shipyard for repairs, prosecutors in Varna said on Saturday, according to AFP as cited by News.ro and Digi24.
"During cleaning operations, very badly damaged human remains were found," the prosecutor's office said, adding that DNA analysis had been ordered to identify the victims. A Bulgarian law enforcement source told AFP that the condition of the remains made an exact count impossible, but that they very probably belonged to six people.
The statement did not name the ship but said it sailed under the flag of San Marino, which matches the tanker Wine Trader. That vessel was struck on 15 October about 24 kilometres southeast of Sulina, at the mouth of the Danube. Seven of its 12 crew members were reported missing and five were rescued.
The ship arrived in Varna in early November. An investigation is also under way in Romania. Since early October, at least nine merchant ships have been hit by drones off the Romanian and Bulgarian Black Sea coasts, leaving 34 people dead or missing.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to visit Bucharest on 9 November and Varna on 10 November.