Online Desk 

A commercial tanker carrying crude oil caught fire after being hit by a drone in the Black Sea, with Russia’s coast guard rescuing all 23 Indian sailors on board unharmed.

The incident occurred near the Russian coast on Tuesday (October 6). In a statement, Russia’s Transport Ministry said the Liberia-flagged Aframax Rio was struck by a maritime drone, causing a fire that quickly spread across the vessel.

The ministry said a coast guard rescue team reached the scene and evacuated all 23 sailors from the burning ship. All of them were Indian nationals, and none sustained injuries, it said.

After the sailors were rescued, several Russian firefighting units arrived at the scene and brought the blaze under control.

The attack occurred in the Sirius area near Sochi, a resort city on Russia’s Black Sea coast. Following the incident, an emergency situation was declared at all beaches in the area.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. However, reports said the vessel had previously been placed on Ukraine’s sanctions list over alleged links to the transportation of Russian crude oil.

This has led to speculation that Ukraine may have been involved in the attack, although there has been no official confirmation of such involvement.