No one hurt in maritime drone explosion at a Romanian Black Sea port

By — Stephen McGrath, Associated Press Stephen McGrath, Associated Press By — Vadim Ghirda, Associated Press Vadim Ghirda, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/no-one-hurt-in-maritime-drone-explosion-at-a-romanian-black-sea-port Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter No one hurt in maritime drone explosion at a Romanian Black Sea port World Jun 5, 2026 10:42 AM EDT BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A maritime drone that is being used in the war in neighboring Ukraine exploded Friday at a Black Sea port in Romania but did not cause any casualties, the Defense Ministry said. READ MORE: House passes bill to provide more Ukraine aid and impose new sanctions on Russia It said the drone self-detonated in the port of Constanta at around 10:30 a.m., and that the area had already been secured and isolated by the Romanian Intelligence Service, coast guard and the Defense Ministry. The drone was not part of the Romanian army's equipment and was not involved in its recent exercises in the Black Sea area, the ministry said. The area was evacuated, authorities said. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The maritime incident occurred a week after a Russian aerial drone that was part of an attack on Ukraine went astray and struck an apartment building in Romania's eastern Danube port city of Galati, injuring two people in the NATO member country. Raed Arafat, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, told a news conference that helicopters were deployed to search for more drones and that the authorities issued text message alerts to residents. READ MORE: Russian drone targeting Ukraine crashes into Romanian apartment building "There is a possibility that there may be other drones," he said. "We are not panicking. These are preventive measures. If there are other drones, we want to make sure there is not another explosion in an area where people are not evacuated." More than 1,300 people have been evacuated from several Black Sea beaches and the routes leading to them have been blocked, authorities said. Romanian President Nicusor Dan said that law enforcement and security services "acted quickly and preventively" before the explosion and that the priority was the protection of lives and the security of port infrastructure. "With a military conflict on the border, it is obvious that the security environment we are in is a sensitive one, which is why we will maintain a high level of vigilance," he said, adding that the incident is a "direct consequence of the war of aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine." READ MORE: Putin says Russia will bolster its air defenses against Ukraine's long-range drone strikes The two incidents are some of the latest in a series of drone incursions — from both Russia and Ukraine — to hit a NATO member since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukr