Search Operation for Missing Sailors of "Alfa Watan" Ship Sunk in Drone Attack Has Been Called Off

The search operation for the crew of the "Alfa Watan" was called off at 5 p.m. yesterday and will not be resumed.

Rumen Nikolov, Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre: “The operation will not be resumed because it is a search and rescue operation for people and vessels in distress. No underwater inspection will be carried out, as this is not an obligation of our country.”

It is currently known that there were 12 Syrian sailors aboard the sunken vessel. There are no indications that any of them survived the drone strike.

Rumen Nikolov, Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre: “The incident occurred at night, when most likely only one or two people were awake on the ship; the rest were in the compartments below the waterline. The drone strike was extremely powerful, causing the ship to sink almost instantly; therefore, the analysis indicates that there could not have been any survivors.”

Everything possible was done to rescue the sailors from the second vessel that was hit and transport them to Varna.

Flotilla Admiral Vanyo Musinski, Deputy Commander of the Bulgarian Navy: “The vessel that had rescued them, the ‘Dioskouria’, headed towards them, the boat went out, and in a very short time managed to bring them in. As far as I understand from the doctors, one of them sustained serious injuries, and it was critical for him to reach hospital as quickly as possible.”

According to Hristo Raev, a maritime law lawyer, Bulgaria must take immediate measures in response to attacks on commercial vessels.

Hristo Raev, maritime law lawyer: “The Bulgarian state, of course, on the basis of its membership in such a major alliance as NATO, must seek assistance together with the other Black Sea countries. You can see that these are not just economic losses; there are also human casualties.”

According to the Maritime Administration, the small oil-product spill following the attacks on the vessels is not expected to have an environmental impact.