The cargo ship ABLE, which was hit by a drone in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, has sunk off the coast of Turkey after 14 days adrift in the Black Sea. Turkish maritime authorities have not yet officially confirmed the sinking or said how it happened.

Drones hit two merchant ships on Tuesday, 6 October, about 70 nautical miles east of Byala. After the attack, prime minister Rumen Radev called an emergency meeting with the institutions.

The previous development: Ship sinks after drone attack 80 miles off Bulgaria's Byala, 18 crew rescued

The second ship, ALFA WATAN, which sailed under the flag of Togo, sank right after the first strikes. The search for its missing sailors was called off before all of them were found.

ABLE sailed under the flag of Palau. It is about 110 metres long and 17 metres wide. It was carrying 5,985 tonnes of barley from Romania to Turkey. The strike set the ship on fire, water began pouring in through the engine room and ABLE listed heavily, but it stayed afloat.

All 18 crew members, 11 Turks and 7 Indians, were evacuated during the attack with the help of ships passing nearby. They were moved onto the ship DIOSCURIA, which took them to the port of Varna. The two injured crew members received medical care.

With its crew gone, ABLE kept drifting in the Black Sea. There were fears for the ship because of the damage and the water flooding in.

The Ministry of Transport says that at about 01:10 on 14 October ABLE left the Bulgarian economic zone, roughly 33 nautical miles east of Ahtopol. The ministry did not say whether the ship was sailing on its own or being towed.

The ship vanished from tracking systems late on the evening of 19 October. The exact place where it sank is not known. Losing the signal does not in itself prove the ship sank, because a link can also drop for technical reasons. No final public conclusion has been reached on who carried out the attacks or what drones were used.

In the exclusive economic zone, unlike in territorial waters, Bulgaria has certain economic rights and responsibilities.