Romania defuses stray mine on its Black Sea shore

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's navy carried out a controlled explosion on Tuesday of a mine that had drifted to its Black Sea shore, the defence ministry said.

Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey have a joint taskforce to defuse stray mines, which began floating in the Black Sea after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The ministry said the navy was alerted by local officials early on Tuesday about an unidentified object that had washed up on shore near Grindul Chituc in southeastern Romania. The area is part of the Danube Delta, which Romania shares with Ukraine.

"By examining photographs taken on site, the object is most likely an anti-landing seamine of the YaRM type," the ministry said in a statement. The mine was detonated at around 0950 GMT, the ministry added.

The Black Sea is crucial for shipments of grain, oil and oil products and is shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey, as well as Ukraine and Russia.

Since the war started, more than 100 drifting mines have been discovered and destroyed, the Romanian navy has said.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

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