Hundreds of people have been evacuated from beaches in several seaside resorts across the counties of Constanta and Tulcea as a precautionary measure after a maritime drone exploded in Port of Constanta on Friday.
Access routes to the beaches have also been closed.
In Constanta County, evacuations were carried out in resorts including Costinesti, Tuzla and Eforie Nord.
"As of this hour, the situation regarding persons evacuated from beaches along the coast is as follows: 300 people evacuated from Costinesti beach, 50 from Tuzla beach, 355 from the beaches of Eforie Nord and Eforie Sud, and 400 from the beaches in Mangalia, including the Saturn-Venus strip and Cap Aurora. Access routes to the beaches have been blocked by the Local Police. The evacuations are preventive in nature," the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) said.
In Tulcea County, people were evacuated from the beaches at Sulina, Sfantu Gheorghe and the Gura Portitei area.
"So far, approximately 100 people have been evacuated from Sulina beach, around 50 from the beach at Sfantu Gheorghe and approximately 50 from the Gura Portitei area. Evacuation operations in the Sfantu Gheorghe and Gura Portitei areas are ongoing and remain subject to continuous change," IGSU added.
Department for Emergency Situations (DSU) head Raed Arafat said in Constanta that the preventive evacuation measures would remain in force in Constanta and Tulcea counties until the authorities complete their checks, as the possibility of identifying additional drones along the entire coastline cannot be ruled out.
"Until we search and verify, we cannot be certain whether there are or are not other drones. From our perspective, there is a possibility that another drone could be identified anywhere along the coastline," Arafat said.
According to Constanta County Prefect Adrian Picoiu, three additional drones are currently being searched for.
He said that the blast wave from the maritime drone explosion destroyed a warehouse in the Port of Constanta and damaged a vessel belonging to the Romanian Agency for Saving Human Life at Sea (ARSVOM).
A maritime drone discovered in Constanta Civil Port near ARSVOM headquarters self-detonated at around 10:30 am on Friday without causing any casualties, the Ministry of National Defence announced.
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