Two injured as drone hits Romanian apartment building close to Ukraine border

May 29 - A drone hit a residential building in Romania's city of Galati close to the border with Ukraine, with two people suffering minor injuries, the Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said in a Facebook post on Friday.

The drone struck a 10th-floor apartment starting a fire, the inspectorate said. The post showed firefighters at the site and debris scattered on the ground.

It added that the drone's entire explosive payload detonated and around 70 people were evacuated. The post did not provide further details about the drone. It said the fire was eventually put out.

In a separate incident, a drone without an explosive charge was found around Basesti in Maramures county in northwestern Romania and the area was secured, TVR broadcaster said late on Thursday, citing local authorities.

The authorities were investigating the origin of the drone, which the report said had a wingspan of about 3 metres (9.84 feet), and how it happened to be in the area, TVR added.

Local authorities in southern Ukraine, meanwhile, said the Izmail port in the Odesa region came under attack from several drones in the early hours of Friday morning.

Izmail, close to the Romanian border, is home to the largest Ukrainian port on the Danube River and is a frequently targeted strategic location. REUTERS