Authorities in Croatia are investigating how a drone from the Ukrainian war zone flew at least 350 miles undetected through the airspace of multiple countries before crashing into a residential area of Zagreb late Thursday night.
The aircraft entered Croatian airspace from Hungary at a speed of 430 mph and an altitude of 4,300 feet before crashing into Croatia’s capital city, the National Security Council of Croatia said in a statement Friday. The drone exploded on impact, leaving a large crater and damaging parked cars, but no one was injured, Croatian authorities say.
“No one was hurt, and that is good fortune,” said Zagreb’s Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic, according to the Associated Press. “It is a relatively big object. … It is amazing that no one was hurt.”
Video of the crash site of an unknown object in #Zagreb.
The mayor of the #Croatian capital said there is no indication that it was an intentional act.
The circumstances are being investigated. pic.twitter.com/VpMCDdRDR4
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 11, 2022
How the drone made it to the Balkans, and who it belongs to, remains a mystery.
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The drone is Russian-made, but it is not yet known whether it is from the Russian or the Ukrainian army, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday, according to a Croatian media outlet.
Authorities in Croatia are investigating whether the unmanned aircraft was mistakenly sent to Zagreb or severely malfunctioned and lost control.
Some on social media speculated Friday that whoever was operating the drone may have entered the wrong coordinates, confusing Lake Jarun in Zagreb with the Ukrainian town of Yarun.
So Russian drone fell in Zagreb near Jarun lake last night — seems it had a wrong Yarun in mind? ? https://t.co/22F30wtsoV
— Mario Francesevic (@MarioFr) March 11, 2022
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The Croatian National Security Council said Friday that a criminal investigation would be opened and that NATO would be informed about the crash.
Croatia’s prime minister was in Paris on Friday for a summit on the conflict in Ukraine.
