Three civilians were killed and two injured by an explosive device while swimming in the Black Sea in southern Ukraine, the Odessa police said on Monday.
The accident happened on Sunday, when several people working at a construction site, ignoring barriers and warning signs on the beach, went swimming in the sea in the BelhorodDnistrovskyi district.
“As a result of an explosion from an unidentified object in the water, three men aged 25, 32 and 53 … were killed,” police said in a written statement. Another man and a woman were injured.
This summer, because of the war with Russia, Ukrainian authorities closed Black Sea beaches and sealed off entrances with red and white tape to ensure civilians were not harmed.
The Ukrainian military has also laid mines along the coast to defend against a possible Russian attack.
“We emphasize once again: swimming in the reservoirs of the Odessa region is now dangerous and prohibited,” said the regional police. “The region’s beaches and coasts are tipped with explosive devices.”
In April this year, video shows Romanian forces attempting to defuse a sea mine that is believed to have erupted off the coast of Ukraine. See below:
Romania is trying to defuse a floating mine off the Black Sea coast