A barge carrying 850 tonnes of fertilisers on board sank in the Romanian port of Moldova Veche on Wednesday, while conducting manoeuvres.

The Romanian port lies approximately 200 kilometres upstream from the beginning of the Bulgarian section of the Danube and 250 kilometres from the town of Vidin.

Bulgarian Environment Minister Ivelina Vasileva assured that the artificial fertilisers are protected in double packaging and there are no indications of pollution so far.

In case there is a spill, the polluted water will reach Bulgaria in 35-45 hours from the time of the incident, the ministry's press service reports.

Vasileva assured that the relevant authorities have readiness to react, water samples are taken regularly and if necessary the population will be warned.

The information for the incident was submitted through the Accident Emergency Warning System (AEWS) of the Danube.

Bulgaria had requested from the situational centres in Romania and Serbia to be presented with information on the results of the water samples that had been taken once these become available.

Relevant authorities such as the Fire Safety and Protection of the Population service and the Border Police have been informed.

The Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube river, the Executive Agency Maritime Administration and the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant have also been informed of the incident.

The Environment Ministry has asked the Foreign Affairs Ministry to cooperate in provision of additional information through the relevant diplomatic missions.