Galati, Romania. A drone crashed onto the roof of a 10-storey apartment block in the southeastern city of Galati during a Russian overnight attack on neighbouring Ukraine on Friday, causing an explosion and fire that injured two people, Romanian authorities said.
Drone strikes apartment building
Romania’s emergency response agency said a fire broke out in a 10th-floor apartment after the drone hit the building’s roof and exploded. It said 70 people evacuated and two people were receiving medical treatment on site.
The agency said the drone’s entire explosive payload detonated and that the fire had since been extinguished.
State news agency Agerpres cited Galati’s emergency response agency as saying a woman and her child were taken to hospital with minor injuries, while two others were treated on site for panic attacks.
Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat, who is in charge of the emergency response agency, told private broadcaster Digi24 that the drone affected two stairwells and damaged five cars.
Romania reports repeated airspace breaches
Romania, a member of NATO and the European Union, shares a 650-km land border with Ukraine and has seen Russian drones breach its airspace 28 times since Moscow began attacking Kyiv’s ports across the Danube river, Romania’s defence ministry said on Friday.
The ministry said it had recovered drone fragments that fell in Romania 47 times.
Friday’s incident was the first time a drone had hit a densely populated area in Romania and caused injuries, according to the report.
Separate drone found in northwest Romania
In a separate incident, a drone without an explosive charge was found near Basesti in Maramures county in northwestern Romania and the area was secured, state TVR broadcaster said late on Thursday, citing local authorities.
The authorities were investigating the origin of the drone, which TVR said had a wingspan of about 3 metres, and how it came to be in the area.
