Bulgaria Defuses Drifting Sea Mines Along Black Sea Coast

SOFIA, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s navy on Tuesday defused a naval mine that had drifted close to its Black Sea coast, a day after it carried out a controlled explosion of another mine, the defence ministry said.

Parts of the Black Sea were mined after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

The ministry said the navy was alerted to the object that was some 14.8 nautical miles east off the coast near Cape Kochan late on Monday by a motor boat sailing under a Ukrainian flag.

Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, all of which have coasts along the Black Sea, have had special diving teams defuse mines that drifted into their waters.

Since the war started, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine have destroyed roughly 40 mines in western waters of the Black Sea.

(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; editing by Vin Shahrestani)