An oil tanker sails through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea in Istanbul July 20, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal/
RUMELIFENERI, Turkey, March 26 – The Turkish military on Saturday deactivated a mine that had drifted in from the Black Sea and triggered a loud explosion north of Istanbul, days after Russia warned several of them were coming from Ukrainian ports had been washed away.
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar described the object, first spotted by fishermen in the upper Bosphorus, as an old type of mine and said he was in contact with both Russian and Ukrainian authorities.
A Reuters witness heard a loud bang outside the coastal village of Rumelifeneri, where naval ships, military planes and helicopters were active. According to a second witness from Reuters, a minesweeper was also heading to the area from Istanbul.
“The mine, determined to be of old type, has been neutralized by our team… and the naval forces continue their vigilant work,” Akar said in a televised statement.
The Coast Guard had previously warned ships to stay away from the round object bobbing on the waves, and a dive team first moved in to investigate.
Turkey shares Black Sea borders with Russia and Ukraine, which invaded Moscow last month. Continue reading
Russia’s top intelligence service said Monday several mines had drifted into the sea after they severed cables near Ukrainian ports, a claim Kyiv dismissed as disinformation and an attempt to cordon off parts of the sea. Continue reading
The Black Sea is an important shipping artery for grain, oil and oil products. It is connected to the Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean Sea via the Bosphorus, which runs through the heart of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city with 16 million people.
Fishermen first spotted the object near a docking area and reported it to the Coast Guard, which sent radio alerts to vessels in the area, the Directorate-General for Coastal Safety told Reuters.
(This story adopts the correct spelling of Hulusi)
Additional reporting by Umit Ozdal and Jonathan Spicer; writing by Jonathan Spicer; Edited by Barbara Lewis and Christina Fincher