The border police ship "Obzor" participated in an operation to rescue two foreigners in a boat in distress in the Black Sea, the Main Directorate of the "Border Police" announced.
They informed that the case dates back to March 2. The report of the incident, about 13 nautical miles east of Maslen Nos, was filed at around 8:45 p.m. at the Border Police Department-Tsarevo via tel. 112.
An organization was immediately created and the border police ship "Obzor" on duty was sent. Through the Local Coordination Center in Sozopol, assistance was sought to conduct an inspection from a fishing vessel. About 12 nautical miles east of the coast, a rubber boat with a man and a woman on board was located. They were taken aboard the fishing vessel, which was closer, and then aboard the border ship, which headed for the port in Burgas.
The foreigners were handed over to officers from the Border Police Department-Burgas. They were medically examined, which determined that their condition was good.
From the initial conversations with the two people in distress, the border police officers determined that they were a Ukrainian citizen and a Turkish citizen. They said that they had left Odessa three days ago with the intention of reaching Varna. On March 2, around noon, they sought help from the ship "GERDA S" and boarded it. When they realized that the vessel would not visit a Bulgarian port and travel to Romania, they decided to disembark and continue to Varna. Subsequently, the boat's engine broke down, the weather worsened, and they decided to remove the engine to lighten the boat. Then they reported for help by calling 112.
The Regional Directorate of the "Border Police" received information from the Romanian Border Police that the motor ship "GERDA S" had reported for people in distress on board who did not want to travel to Romania and subsequently disembarked from the ship, heading for the Bulgarian coast.
The foreigners identified during the rescue operation presented photos of their identity documents on their phones – an ID card of a 45-year-old Turkish citizen and a passport photo of a 43-year-old Ukrainian citizen.
When checking the data of the individuals in the information systems, the border police officers found that the Ukrainian citizen was banned from entering or residing in the Schengen area. The two foreigners were detained.
An investigation has been launched into the case.