The authorities in Constanta, Romania, reported that a powerful explosion shook the area around the pier in front of the Forum Hotel in the seaside resort of Costinești at 9.40 am local time on Monday morning.
According to the county’s disaster management inspectorate, it is possible that it was a sea mine. Specialized intervention teams are on the scene and no reports of material damage or personal injury have been received so far. The Romanian coast is also crowded with tourists for a four-day mini-holiday, which will be followed by two days off over the weekend.
“This morning at around 9.00 a.m. we received a call for help to intervene in the resort of Costinești, where an explosion had occurred on the pier. Several resources of the Constanta County Disaster Management Inspectorate were quickly dispatched to the scene; a fire truck, first aid personnel, a rescue boat were dispatched from the station in Tuzla; and a fire brigade team is also on the scene,” Ana-Maria Stoica, spokesperson for the Disaster Management Inspectorate, told the press.
An eyewitness told Digi24 news that there was a loud explosion in the area and that he saw thick black smoke. “They said something exploded. Police and firefighters arrived. Tourists are still in the water,” the interviewer said.
The sea mine may have struck the breaking rocks and caused no major damage, just a scare, according to authorities. However, police and rescuers say the danger has not passed, and the Coast Guard and all intervention units are on alert as some sources said there is another sea mine drifting closer to the coast.
The Ministry of Defense said the navy is doing its best to neutralize it before it explodes.
A dive team is trying to approach the reported area in a Coast Guard vessel to “assess the situation and intervene to neutralize it if they see the mine,” the Defense Ministry said.
