A drone crashed into a residential apartment building in Galați, Romania, early Friday morning, triggering an explosion and a fire that prompted a large
emergency response from local authorities. According to Romanian emergency officials, the drone struck the apartment block around 2 AM, with the impact followed by a fire inside an apartment located on the 10th floor of the building. Two people who were inside the burned apartment managed to self-evacuate before emergency crews arrived. Authorities later said the two suffered abrasions and received medical treatment at the scene. The Galați Emergency Situations Inspectorate (ISU) confirmed that the fire has since been extinguished and that, up to this point, no additional drones have been identified in the area.
Authorities also issued a RO-ALERT warning message to residents following the incident.
“A short time ago, in the municipality of Galați, a drone crashed into a block of flats, the impact being followed by an explosion and the outbreak of a fire in an apartment located on the 10th floor,” ISU Galați said in a statement.
Emergency response teams from the ISU, SMURD, the County Ambulance Service, and police units were deployed to the scene to secure the area and limit the effects of the incident.
Romanian authorities also announced that a specialized investigation team focused on explosions was traveling to the scene. The unit includes officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and experts from the National Institute of Forensics within the Romanian Police.
Specialized teams from Romania’s intelligence and security structures were also involved in the response operation.
Initial reports suggested the drone may have been Russian, although officials have not yet confirmed the origin of the aircraft.
The incident comes amid rising tensions along NATO’s eastern flank, as Romania, which shares a lengthy border with Ukraine, has increasingly reported Russian drone activity and airspace violations linked to Moscow’s ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine.
Investigations into the crash remain ongoing.
The incident comes amid growing concerns along NATO’s southeastern flank over increasing Russian drone activity near Romania’s border with Ukraine. Romania shares around 400 miles of border with Ukraine and sits directly along the Black Sea and Danube River region, placing parts of the country close to areas repeatedly targeted by Russian drone and missile strikes.
According to data provided by Romania’s Defense Ministry to ABC News, Russian attacks near the NATO frontier have increased in recent months, resulting in more frequent NATO air policing missions, repeated violations of allied airspace by Russian drones, and the discovery of munition fragments on Romanian territory.
