Residents of Mihăileni recall fear after a drone crash on September 8
There was panic in the village of Mihăileni, located in the Râșcani district, after a drone crashed and exploded on September 8 in a nearby field. Residents are becoming increasingly fearful of such incidents, as the explosion was felt within a half-kilometre radius. The impact ignited four separate fires; however, village mayor Valerian Cecan described the damage as insignificant.
A drone fell in a field of sunflowers, in a one-hectare area sown with corn, and in a pasture. Fortunately, one of the landowners had harvested his sunflower crop just a day before the incident.
“The owner of the land where the drone fell managed to harvest his sunflowers the night before the incident. On the neighboring land, a hectare of corn burned, and a nearby field caught fire,” said Valerian Cecan in an interview with Teleradio-Moldova.
The General Inspectorate for Emergencies responded quickly to extinguish the fires, reported Virgil Chibzii, head of the Agriculture and Food Section of the Râșcani District Council.
“They arrived at the scene in about seven minutes and contained the outbreak,” he stated.
Chibzii expressed concern about the incident, saying it caused anxiety among locals, especially since they witnessed the aftermath of an explosion near their homes instead of seeing it on television.
“People are panicking. They usually only see such events on TV, but now, when they see it with their own eyes, they are overwhelmed with fear, and it is not good at all. Everything happening now is troubling, and this situation could lead to serious consequences. I cannot understand how the drone flew for two hours across the country and fell so far from its intended location,” the head of the Agriculture and Food Department said.
He noted that this was the second such incident in the Râșcani district, following an event on November 10, 2024, when a drone was detected near the village of Borosenii Noi.
“At that time, something else fell, not a Gheran drone like this one,” he concluded.
A resident of Mihăilenii Vechi recounted his experience during a recent drone incident. He was outside at the time and did not see the drone in flight, but he heard the explosion and later noticed smoke rising from the area where it fell.
"I heard a loud bang, and I was scared. It exploded not far from me. I am a second-degree disabled person and bedridden; sometimes someone helps me outside. When it exploded, I heard a loud noise like thunder and saw a bright flash, followed by thick white smoke. I'm not afraid of drones; I have no connection to them. You can’t jump into a fight with drones. I live about 500-600 meters from the field where the drone fell, and it was quite loud," the local resident shared.
He also commented on the ongoing war initiated by Russia in Ukraine, saying, "God forbid what is happening there." He added that ordinary people have no power to intervene or stop drones that illegally fly over the airspace of the Republic of Moldova and crash.
On September 8, a drone illegally entered the airspace of the Republic of Moldova, flew into Romania, and later returned to Moldova, crashing in a field near the village of Mihăileni in the Râșcani district.
The drone entered Moldova from Ukraine at 16:20 and remained in Moldovan airspace for approximately 17 minutes before exiting towards Romania. Later, it returned from Iași, Romania, and crashed in northern Moldova.
A few hours later, another drone crashed at the Starokazacie-Tudora border crossing point, resulting in the deaths of two Ukrainian civilians and injuring three others, including one citizen of the Republic of Moldova.
