A military drone fell on Thursday in Great Islan of Braila, 8 kilometers from Brăila and 23 kilometers inside the Romanian territory, reports the local press from Brăila.
The debraila.ro publication broadcast images of the crash site. The Army, SRI, Police, Gendarmerie and ISU have isolated the area, the local publication further says.
Before the crash, the drone, whose origin is still being evaluated, penetrated 23 kilometers into Romanian territory. The crater formed has a diameter of approximately 4 meters and is visible from the air, according to the local publication.
“A helicopter of the Ministry of Defense, the SRI Anti-Terrorist Brigade, crews from the Police, Gendarmerie and ISU are in the Big Island of Brăila, in the area of the Filipoiu farm, where a military drone crashed in the field”, Braila journalists write.
The place where the drone crashed is located 8 km from the ferry crossing from the Brăila municipality towards the Big Island of Brăila. The authorities were alerted on Thursday evening, around 21:45, about the crash of the drone. Since then, the area has been cordoned off by law enforcement. Witnesses claim that a loud bang was heard when the drone crashed.
The Ministry of Defense (MApN) confirmed today that on Thursday evening, fragments that seem to come from an aerial device (drone) were identified on an agricultural land in Braila island.
No less than 3 Russian drones fell in Romania in 10 days in September 2023, the last one being discovered on September 13 between the villages of Nufăru and Victoria in Nufăru commune, Tulcea county. The first two cases of drone remains found on Romanian territory were near the town of Plauru, located practically on the border, but Nufăru and Victoria are much further from the border. In none of the three previous cases, Romania’s radars did not detect anything.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday, in Timișoara, that he hopes this will be the last time this happens. He states that an investigation is underway to determine the origin of the drone.
“A few minutes ago I spoke with the Minister of Defense. The perimeter has been closed since last night. An investigation is underway. It’s not the first. I wish it was the last. At the moment we have no victims and there are no such problems. We hope to be, I repeat, as small as possible, or to avoid these events as much as possible”, said Marcel Ciolacu, after participating, on Friday, in the inauguration of the new international departures terminal of the “Traian Vuia” International Airport in Timisoara.
Asked if the checks made so far indicate the origin of this drone and if it is a Russian one, the prime minister replied: “Let’s wait for the investigation. If we look at the crater, it did not have an explosion, therefore it could not cause damage, even if it had fallen in another area”.