Evacuation in Romania: after drone attack on Ukraine, gas ship catches fire

A fire broke out on a ship loaded with liquefied petroleum gas near the city of Izmail, Odesa region, as a result of a nighttime drone attack on Ukrainian territory. Due to the proximity to the Romanian border and the nature of the cargo, local authorities promptly conducted a first assessment of potential risks and introduced a precautionary evacuation. This was reported by General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of Romania.

Taking into account the possible consequences, the local authorities, in coordination with the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs structures responsible for emergency response, decided to preventively evacuate people and animals in the vicinity. This measure will remain in effect until any threats to the population are completely eliminated.

At the same time, the District Emergency Committee was activated to continuously monitor developments and coordinate all necessary response measures. The chief inspector, the prefect of the district and firefighters' units engaged in reconnaissance, surveillance and operational support went to the area to assess and monitor the risks.

As of now, 15 people have been evacuated from the village of Plauru and transported to the village of Seatalhioi to specially prepared places provided by the local authorities. The operation is ongoing .

Due to the dangerous situation reported near the Romanian-Ukrainian border in the Plauru area, Tulcea County, the ISU Tulcea Inspectorate sent a RO-ALERT message to the residents of the region with warnings and safety instructions within a radius of about 5 km.

Text of the RO-ALERT message:

"The main risk is an explosion in the Plaura area. Avoid the area and leave the danger zone! Follow the recommendations of the authorities, including instructions from services conducting open-air evacuations, traffic restrictions and route re-routing.".

• On the night of November 17, Russians attacked the seaport in Izmail, Odesa region, with drones. The attack damaged the port infrastructure and several civilian vessels near the berths.
• In addition to port infrastructure and vessels, the nighttime Russian attack on Odesa region damaged energy infrastructure.