The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan has issued an official statement regarding the drone attack on the foreign cargo vessel “Royad Mammadov” in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania.
Sea-news.az reports the ministry, as a result of the attack, an Azerbaijani citizen, the ship’s captain, Rustam Ismail oglu Hasanov (born 1974), was killed. Another Azerbaijani citizen, Mahammad Hamza oglu Suleymanzade (born 2002), is reported missing. Appropriate search and rescue operations are currently underway to locate him.
Other Azerbaijani citizens among the crew members were rescued, with three of them hospitalized. The MFA is conducting coordination efforts in conjunction with Azerbaijan’s diplomatic missions and the competent authorities of the relevant countries.
The ministry’s statement emphasized that necessary measures are being taken to provide Azerbaijani citizens with essential medical and consular assistance, as well as to execute the procedures for repatriating the deceased citizen’s body to Azerbaijan.
The MFA expressed deep condolences to the families and relatives of the deceased compatriots and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. Furthermore, the ministry called on Azerbaijani citizens to refrain from traveling to regions with ongoing military operations or unstable security environments, and to avoid employment aboard transport vehicles, particularly vessels operating along high-risk routes in such areas.
