Bomb alert at Romania’s Black Sea Port of Constanța amid heightened security concerns
Romania’s major point of access to the Black Sea, the Port of Constanța, was subjected to a bomb alert on Wednesday, July 29. The caller reportedly encouraged port employees to flee the scene.
“There are several bombs placed in the Port building and in the passenger terminal. They are disguised as various objects, so you will not have time to find them before they explode. If you do not want to get injured, the best thing is to leave,” sources among the investigators told Euronews Romania.
The interim defence minister, Radu Miruță, stated that the threat was reported from two phone numbers outside Romania, one number with a Ukrainian prefix and the other with a Polish prefix.
“Investigations are being carried out regarding these phone numbers. It is a standard procedure that takes place in such situations. An audio message in Romanian was sent through these phones, which our specialists assess was generated with artificial intelligence,” Radu Miruță explained to Digi24.
The interim defence minister added that all checks are being carried out by the institutions at the scene. “The port was not closed. Instead, people were evacuated from some buildings, those designated by the Romanian Intelligence Service,” the official said.
The prefect of Constanța County, Adrian Picoiu, stated that the bomb threat was received by the Romanian Naval Authority.
“At 11:26, a 112 emergency call was registered, through which an ANR employee informed that on the institution’s telephone network they had received a recorded audio message, in Romanian, regarding the existence of bombs in the Passenger Terminal area of the Port of Constanța,” the prefect of Constanța declared.
In other news, the same day, the Ministry of National Defence announced that aerial targets had been detected at the river border with Ukraine, and two F-16 aircraft were scrambled from Borcea Air Base.
“The radar surveillance system of the Ministry of National Defence detected on Wednesday, July 29, around 10:30, a group of aerial targets in the vicinity of the river border with Ukraine. Two F-16 aircraft from the 86th Air Base Borcea were scrambled at 10:57 to monitor the situation,” representatives of the Ministry of Defence announced.
Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the ambassador of the Russian Federation on Monday, July 27, following a series of incidents involving Russian drones shot down after entering the country’s territory. In exchange, the Russian government denied any involvement and promised retaliation.
(Photo source: Constanta Port on Facebook)
