Marine drone explodes in NATO-member Romania port, sparking evacuation
A marine drone - similar to the ones used in the Ukraine war - has caused a major explosion after hitting the main port of Constanța in NATO state Romania.
Despite it being isolated, footage showed smoke rising from the unmanned boat in the Black Sea port which had 'self-detonated' at around 10:30am local time near an oil terminal.
The Black Sea port was being urgently evacuated amid fears of three more sea drones approaching, with residents nearby warned to take cover - however no casualties have been confirmed.
It was not immediately clear who the green-coloured drone belonged to, however the Romanian authorities stressed it did not belong to the Romanian armed forces.
The Russian Embassy has also clarified that the sea drone was not theirs, instead suggesting that it belonged to Ukraine.
Romania's president Nicușor Dan said that further information would be shared this afternoon and that if there are other drones, they will not reach the shore.
Staff in local hospitals have reportedly been alerted to prepare for an emergency, bringing in extra staff.
Romania shares a shares a 400-mile border with Ukraine, with the civilian and naval port around 100 miles south of this boundary.
'The maritime drone is of the type used in the war in Ukraine,' said the NATO state's defence ministry.
'The situation is dynamic and we will return with information and official data as they become available.'
The explosion came after the sea drone had been 'secured and isolated' by forces of the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Coast Guard and the Ministry of National Defence. Evidently a timer was set to explode.
An 'extreme' RO Alert issued with an order to evacuate people within a one kilometre radius amid reports 'three more maritime drones heading towards the port'.
The alert stated: 'Evacuate the area within a radius of 1 km in the coastal area of the Port of Constanta.
The Russian embassy posted on their Facebook: 'Given the intentionally incomplete information disseminated by the Romanian Ministry of National Defense regarding the maritime drone that exploded in the port of Constanta, as well as three other similar drones drifting towards Romanian territorial waters, the Russian Embassy in Romania informs the Romanian public that these are Ukrainian unmanned maritime vehicles, used by the Kiev regime to commit terrorist acts against civilian ships and to create threats to the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.
Any attempts to directly or indirectly associate these drones with Russia and to attribute responsibility for the incident to it are groundless.
Romanian Prime Minister and President Nicușor Dan were urgently informed about the incidents, said reports. A criminal investigation is now underway.
The explosion was near the headquarters of the Romanian Agency for Saving Human Life at Sea in the civilian part of the port.
The main NATO land battlegroup in Romania is French-led and also includes troops from Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg.
Other NATO forces also rotate through or operate in Romania, including U.S. troops at Mihail Kogălniceanu and Câmpia Turzii, and air-policing deployments such as the UK RAF Typhoons.
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