SOFIA, Aug 8: Bulgarian authorities have stepped up security measures along the Romanian border after an unidentified drone entered the country’s airspace and exploded near a major gas pipeline, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on Saturday.
The unmanned aerial vehicle crossed into Bulgaria from Romania and detonated shortly after 5 am, around 100 metres inside Bulgarian territory, according to Radev. Authorities said the aircraft was not detected or identified while passing through either Romanian or Bulgarian airspace.
No casualties or structural damage were reported following the blast. The affected area was immediately secured as officials continued monitoring the situation.
Radev said the explosion occurred approximately 200 metres from a Romanian compressor station and about one kilometre from Bulgaria’s compressor facility along the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline.
Following an emergency government meeting, the prime minister announced plans to reinforce surveillance capabilities along the Romanian frontier. Border police anti-drone detection and countermeasure equipment will be redeployed from the Turkish border to strengthen monitoring in the area.
The origin of the drone remains unknown, and Bulgarian officials have not established whether the incident has any connection to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said the matter is expected to be raised at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council early next week. He said the intensity of the explosion and the large column of black smoke suggested that the aircraft may have been carrying a substantial quantity of explosives.
Stoyanov also pointed to the difficulty of detecting small unmanned aircraft flying at low altitudes, highlighting the security challenge posed by such systems near critical infrastructure.
The incident has drawn particular attention because the explosion occurred close to energy infrastructure linking the two neighbouring countries. Bulgaria and Romania are members of both NATO and the European Union.
Authorities are continuing to assess the circumstances surrounding the blast while maintaining heightened surveillance along the border.
