An unidentified drone exploded on Saturday near a major gas pipeline close to Bulgaria’s border with Romania, prompting authorities to investigate the incident.
The drone reportedly entered Bulgarian airspace from Romania before exploding about 1,000 metres from a compressor station on the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, near the former Kardam border checkpoint, according to the Bulgarian News Agency.
Authorities said no injuries were reported, while the explosion caused no damage to buildings, energy infrastructure or nearby agricultural land.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev disclosed the incident following an emergency meeting of the government’s Security Council, saying the drone had apparently crossed from Romanian airspace without being detected by radar systems in either country.
He added that no advance information had been received from NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejón, Spain, which monitors airspace across southern Europe.
Radev said detecting drones flying at very low altitudes can be difficult because radar systems cannot provide complete coverage at such heights.
Authorities were able to quickly identify the site of the explosion, he added.
According to the prime minister, the drone was carrying a significant quantity of explosives, producing a blast that could be heard from a considerable distance.
Officials have not yet identified the drone’s origin or established the circumstances surrounding the incident.