Bulgarian Navy to Check Reports on Stray Mine Spotted in Black Sea

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Bulgarian navy will look into reports that a stray mine has been seen in the Black Sea, the national defence ministry said.

On Monday, the coordination center for marine rescue operations in the Bulgarian city of Varna received from a message from Turkey that a stray mine was seen approximately 43 miles southeast of Cape Galata in the Varna region.

The Bulgarian navy is looking over the area with a helicopter, the statement noted, adding that a ship with engineers will be sent to the mine detection site for de-mining.

On 20 March, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said that the Ukrainian military had installed about 420 mines at the entrance to the ports of Odessa, Ochakiv, Chornomorsk and Yuzhne since the beginning of the Russian military operation in the country. The FSB did not rule out the possibility of the drifting of mines to the Bosphorus Strait and further on into the Mediterranean.

On 22 March, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the defence ministry was taking all necessary measures regarding drifting mines in the Black Sea. One mine has already been found and neutralized in the area of the Sariyer-Turkeli anchorage at the entrance to the Bosphorus Strait.