❗️Nine Syrian sailors missing after drone strike sinks ship off Bulgaria

Nine Syrian sailors remain missing after a drone strike sank a commercial vessel off Bulgaria’s coast, a Syrian official told AFP on Thursday, as rescue teams ended search operations.

Bulgarian authorities said no survivors had been located after drones struck two commercial ships in the Black Sea early on Tuesday.

One vessel caught fire following the strikes, while the other sank.

Specialized maritime website Maritime.bg reported that 10 people were aboard the sunken Togolese-flagged Alfa Watan.

Mazen Alloush, an official with Syria’s customs authority, told AFP that “the ship’s crew was composed of 10 sailors, nine of them Syrians and one Egyptian,” adding that “their fate is still unknown.”

Alloush said Syria had sent urgent communications to the International Maritime Organization and Bulgarian maritime authorities “calling for an independent and transparent investigation” into the incident.

They also requested clarification on “the reasons that led to the suspension of search and rescue operations,” he added.