Bulgaria steps up Black Sea mine monitoring after Romania blast
Bulgarian authorities have intensified monitoring of sea mines in the Black Sea after a blast near a Romanian resort, the Sofia Defense Ministry said.
The measures were taken following reports of a sea mine explosion near the Romanian resort of Costinești, the ministry said. Additional forces and response assets are prepared for urgent intervention to neutralise any floating mines.
On Monday morning, a powerful explosion was recorded near a pier in front of a hotel in the Romanian Black Sea resort of Costinești, and initial reports indicated that it was a sea mine.
Bulgarian media note that this is not the first similar incident since the start of the war in Ukraine.
On Saturday an anti-tank mine was discovered in the sea off a beach near Kavala in northern Greece, according to the ANA-MPA agency. The Greek coastguard said the mine was 25 metres from the shore at a depth of about 2 metres and was heavily corroded.
Several areas in the Black Sea have been mined since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine last year.
Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey have special diving teams that have diffused several mines drifting in their waters. According to the Romanian defence ministry, more than 70 sea mines have been confirmed and destroyed in the Black Sea between the start of the war in Ukraine and May this year. Most were detonated by Ukrainian engineers, followed by those from Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia.
