Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev
According to Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, the drone entered Bulgarian airspace from Romania and exploded 1,000 meters from the compressor station of the Trans-Balkan Gas Pipeline, near the former Kardam border crossing between the two countries.
“The noise from the drone was detected by the Romanian border police, and then a patrol from the Bulgarian border police in General Toshevo heard a powerful explosion,” Euronews quoted Radev as saying.
The prime minister added that “the location of the drone explosion was immediately identified” and confirmed that there were no casualties and that buildings and infrastructure were not damaged.
The prime minister stated that neither the Bulgarian nor the Romanian authorities detected the drone while it was in their airspace. According to him, surveillance operations in the region will now be stepped up.
An investigation into the incident has been launched to determine the type of drone used.
According to opposition MP Ivaylo Mirchev, Kardam is one of the key points along the Vertical Gas Corridor—a strategic route for transporting liquefied natural gas from Greece through the countries of Southeast and Central Europe. The corridor connects Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
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