Drone Crashes on Beach Near Gelendzhik: Six Dead, Including Three Children

On the morning of August 3, a drone crashed onto a beach in the resort village of Arkhipo-Osipovka in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, killing six people, including three children, and injuring around forty others. The news was confirmed by the region's governor, Veniamin Kondratyev.

According to the Telegram channel Astra, eyewitnesses reported air defence activity that may have caused the drone to fall on the beachgoers. One witness told the regional outlet 93.ru: "Two drones flew right over our heads — one exploded, and the other hit people."

Initially, emergency services in Krasnodar Krai reported that people had died after "drone debris" fell on the beach, located roughly 170 kilometres in a straight line from the Kerch Strait. The governor later gave updated figures: six people were killed, including three children, around 40 were injured, and 17 of the wounded were hospitalised — four of them in serious condition, including two children.

Kondratyev accused Ukraine of "cynical and inhuman terrorism," even though civilian casualties from Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities have long become a grim regularity.

Meduza, the exiled Russian outlet, noted that Ukrainian Telegram channels claim the drone crashed onto the beach because electronic warfare systems disrupted its control.

According to the Telegram channel Ostorozhno, Novosti, Gelendzhik Mayor Alexei Bogodistov officially announced a drone attack threat at 8:34 a.m., and ten minutes later declared the all-clear. However, as Meduza points out, local residents and tourists complained they hadn't heard any sirens, even though the village has them installed.

The portal 93.ru reports that shortly after the tragedy, people in Arkhipo-Osipovka were already swimming in the sea again. "Nothing to worry about, everything's fine. The only thing is, as far as I know, that particular stretch is closed off for now, until they clear it," said an employee at one of the local accommodations. A staff member at another guesthouse confirmed: "The neighbouring beach is open, people are swimming."

Read also: 8 Best Swimming Spots Near Prague: Lakes, Quarries and Beaches Within an Hour's Drive of the Capital

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz