Varna prosecutors have opened an investigation after human remains were discovered aboard a San Marino‑flagged vessel that was struck by a drone off the Romanian coast and later repaired in a Varna shipyard.
The cargo vessel, flagged San Marino, had no Bulgarian nationals on board when it was hit by an unidentified drone on 5 October in the Black Sea near Romania. It had been carrying containers of unspecified goods and was transiting from Constanța to Varna at the time. Earlier in the day, the ship’s automated systems reported a breach, prompting an emergency stop before the vessel was towed to Varna for repairs.
The impact tore the hull, rupturing the fuel tanks and ejecting debris that was swept into the sea. During a cleanup operation in early November, the shipyard crew uncovered badly damaged human remains among the wreckage. The debris field spanned a 50‑meter area, and recovery teams extracted bone fragments that were transported to a forensic lab.
The remains are severely fragmented, and a DNA testing campaign has been launched to determine the identities of the deceased. Analysts say the fragmentation indicates a violent impact, but investigators are ruling out accidental suffocation as a cause. The testing process is expected to take several weeks, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The investigation is under the Varna District Prosecution Office, which oversees the case and coordinates with maritime authorities. The shipyard will complete repairs before the vessel can resume sailing.
In parallel, Romanian prosecutors are conducting their own investigation into the drone strike, and officials have pledged to share findings with Bulgarian authorities to clarify the incident’s context. Romanian prosecutors plan to investigate the origin of the drone, whether it was a military asset or part of a commercial operation.
The BTA is the only outlet that has publicly reported the discovery of human remains. Other Bulgarian news outlets have covered drone incidents in the region but have not mentioned any remains.
The drone incident is part of a series of reports, including a Bulgarian Navy team that destroyed a Russian Gerber‑2 drone near Shabla on 6 November. This follows more than 100 reported drone sightings or recoveries along Bulgarian coastlines during 2026.
