The Bulgarian navy frigate Verni is heading for a second time to the part of Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea where drones hit two merchant ships on the night of 6 October, the Defence Ministry press office told BTA. The frigate first set out on Thursday, 8 October. See our original report: Drones hit two cargo ships in Bulgaria's Black Sea economic zone.
Sea and aerial drones struck the two ships. The Togo-flagged vessel sank. The second ship was damaged and caught fire, and its crew was evacuated.
Rumen Nikolov, head of emergency rescue operations at the Maritime Administration Executive Agency, said on Wednesday that no sailors had been found from the sunken ship and the search and rescue operation had ended.
The Consultative Council on National Security met a day after the attack. Its members want an immediate check on who is behind the strikes.
Foreign minister Velislava Petrova said on Thursday that an on-site inspection will need outside help. She said checking a sinking ship is very specific and hard, as she had learned from colleagues. "I hope we will have the necessary equipment so this can happen and we have clear motives and evidence of who exactly caused it," Petrova said.
A senior Syrian official said 9 Syrian sailors are still listed as missing after the cargo ship sank on Tuesday. Syria wants the International Maritime Organization and Bulgaria's maritime authorities to hold an independent and transparent investigation into what happened and why the search and rescue stopped.