23 Indians rescued after tanker attack off Sochi

All 23 Indian crew members of an oil tanker attacked off Russia’s Black Sea coast have been rescued safely, officials said.
The Liberian-flagged tanker Aframax Rio caught fire on Tuesday evening after being struck by what Russia called “naval drones” near the resort city of Sochi.
The blaze was so intense that firefighters initially could not approach the vessel. Thick black smoke was visible from the coastline.
Russia’s Transport Ministry said all 23 crew members, every one an Indian national, were evacuated with no injuries reported.
Authorities temporarily restricted access to beaches near Sochi as a precaution. Air and water monitoring found no excessive pollution.
The tanker is on Ukraine’s sanctions list over alleged links to Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil vessels.
The attack came a day after another ship caught fire and sank off Romania’s coast, killing one person. One Indian crew member was injured in that incident. Indian officials said they were monitoring the situation and were in contact with the crew and Russian authorities. The rescued sailors are expected to be repatriated once formalities are complete.
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