The oil tanker caught fire near the shores of Sochi

After the tanker caught fire in the Black Sea near Sochi, the head of Sirius announced the closure of beaches and recommended that residents stay indoors. The tanker was loaded with crude oil, and residents of Sochi are reporting acrid smoke from the fire.

Residents of the resort reported the tanker fire in social media this evening. Citizens are posting photos and videos showing the burning vessel and thick black smoke above it.

The head of the Sirius administration, Dmitry Plishkin, confirmed the fact of the fire on the tanker. In his Telegram channel, he announced the closure of the beaches in the area for safety reasons.

Plishkin also asked the residents of Sirius to "refrain from prolonged stays outdoors and, if possible, not to open windows in their homes." The official added that "constant monitoring of water and air quality" has been organized, but did not specify the cause of the fire.

"Smoke from the burning vessel has covered the sky over the center of Sochi. Residents of the Central district report thick smoke spreading over the city from the sea," states a post from the Telegram public "Emergency Sochi."

The fire is "visible from the entire coastline" and even from the city of Gagra in Abkhazia, according to eyewitnesses cited by "Caution, News."

The monitoring channel "Sochi Radar" reported that the tanker "was attacked by an unmanned boat," but this information has not been officially confirmed. As of 20:45 Moscow time today, Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin had not commented on the fire off the resort's coast in his channel. The operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region has also not published any information about the incident.

The Aframax Rio tanker, flying the flag of Liberia, "was carrying crude oil from Novorossiysk to India and was loaded almost to capacity," the pro-government Telegram channel Mash claims.

The Aframax Rio is capable of carrying 95-100 thousand tons of oil, notes the Astra channel (included in the Russian registry of foreign agents).