Bad weather thwarted the evacuation of the crew of a Russian tanker in distress near Ahtopol yesterday, BNT reported.
The ship, hit by drones in the Black Sea near the Bosphorus, found itself blocked off the Bulgarian coast. There are 10 people on board. A crisis headquarters was convened in Burgas because of the situation.
In the early afternoon yesterday, the residents of Ahtopol noticed a huge tanker on the horizon. It looked in bad condition, there were people on board.
"There are about 10 people there and people are in distress. Helicopters came. "It is definitely on fire," said Donka Atanasova.
The Ministry of Transport announced that the crew initially did not respond to attempts to contact them. After an inquiry to the Maritime Coordination Center in Ankara, it was confirmed that it was the ship "Kairos", which was hit by drones in Turkish waters two days ago.
Later, the crew requested evacuation. A helicopter was used to inspect the ship, but due to the rough waters, it was impossible to evacuate the crew. However, they managed to drop anchor before the vessel got dangerously close to the shore.
"The locals are extremely worried. The good thing is that the depth in front of Ahtopol, where we are, is about 45-50 meters, which means that the anchors can hold firmly and the tanker is empty, hopefully they can hold it. The ship is only about 100 meters from the shore. If the anchor breaks in this situation, in less than 30 minutes the ship will be on the rocks of Ahtopol," said Zdravko Vassilev, popular for his participation in Big Brother.
The crisis headquarters announced that the tanker is not transporting oil and there is no danger of a spill. The ten-member crew is safe, with all the necessary protective equipment and constant communication is ensured with it. Teams of the "Border Police" remain on duty and will monitor the situation with thermal cameras. Evacuation will begin when the sea calms down.