Explosion at Romanian port caused by Ukrainian sea drone, as three more found along Black Sea coast

Two helicopters are surveying the Constata port and Black Sea coast searching for more drones after a maritime drone exploded in the port earlier on Friday, Romanian Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat said.

Ukraine has notified Romania that the maritime drone was part of group of five, Constanta county prefect Adrian Teodor Picoiu, according to local media.

He added that one drone exploded in Constanta, another in Ukraine, and a search was ongoing for remaining the remaining three.

It self-detonated at around 10am local time, without causing any casualties.

Read more: Ukraine strikes Russian warships docked near St Petersberg as Putin's economic forum begins

Read more: UK summons Russian ambassador over 'reckless' drone attack on Nato member Romania

"The area had already been secured and cordoned off by forces from the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Coast Guard, and the Ministry of National Defence; at that time, the object was undergoing assessment and being secured," the Ministry of National Defence said.

"We now know there is the risk of self-detonation, we have ... evacuated in case there are more drones," Arafat said.

"We are not panicking, the measures are purely preventative.

Local media are reporting that three more maritime drones have been found on the coast.

The explosion comes a week after a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in the southeastern Romanian city of Galati, near the border with Ukraine, injuring two people - the first time in the Russia-Ukraine war that a drone struck a densely populated area in a NATO state.

Romania, a NATO and European Union member, shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has reported 28 incursions into its airspace by Russian drones since Moscow began attacking Ukrainian ports on the Danube, the defence ministry has said.

Ukrainian drone fragments have also landed on Romanian territory.