COMMERCIAL SHIP SINKS OFF ROMANIA—ONE DEAD, THREE MISSING AFTER REPORTED DRONE STRIKE
One sailor has died and three remain missing after the Comoros-flagged commercial vessel KHORYV reportedly came under drone attack in the Black Sea on October 23.
Romanian maritime authorities said nine crew members were rescued alive and one body was recovered. Thirteen people were aboard: ten Ukrainian nationals and three Azerbaijani nationals. The survivors were being brought ashore for medical assessment; their individual injuries have not been fully established.
The vessel sent a distress signal approximately 13 nautical miles—24 kilometers—off Constanța, just outside Romania’s territorial waters. Romanian reports described the ship capsizing and sinking.
Rescue vessels were dispatched, but rough seas, strong winds and poor visibility complicated the search for the missing sailors.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia for the incident. The maritime authority’s initial statement confirmed the emergency and rescue operation without establishing its cause.
For the crew’s families, the immediate concern is the search still underway. A commercial voyage has ended with one confirmed death, three people unaccounted for and nine survivors brought out of the Black Sea.