DHL cargo plane crashes in Vilnius residential area
A DHL cargo plane crashed on Monday near the airport in Vilnius, striking a residential building. One of the four crew members died, and two people were taken to the hospital. The causes of the crash are currently under investigation, and footage of the crash moment has been published online.
A Boeing 737, operated by the Spanish airline Swiftair, was on a flight from Leipzig when it crashed around 11:30 PM Eastern Time while approaching the airport in Vilnius.
Cargo plane crash in Lithuania
According to information provided by local authorities and quoted by the BBC, the aircraft clipped a private house, causing a fire to break out.
The Fire and Rescue Department Director, Renatas Požela, stated that the plane fell a few kilometres from the airport and slid several hundred metres before hitting the house, "slightly damaging it." Dozens of police and fire department teams are working at the scene.
The company "Teltonika" released footage from a surveillance camera. The video shows the airplane approaching for landing. At one point, the aircraft disappears behind the trees, over which a massive ball of fire appears.
At an urgent press conference, the Chief of the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), Vilmantas Vitkauskas, reported that 12 residents were evacuated from the damaged building. "There were no casualties among the residents. As for the four-person crew (of the plane), one person died, and two were transported to the hospital. One person has not been located yet," added the NKVC Chief.
Dashcam footage from one of the drivers has also appeared online.
"We cannot exclude the possibility of a terrorist act"
The NKVC, quoted by Reuters, has launched an investigation into the causes of the crash, promising to examine all possible hypotheses. Available information at this stage does not indicate an explosion on the plane before the accident. The chief of police, Arunas Paulauskas, assessed that the accident was caused by technical issues or human error but noted that "we cannot exclude the possibility of a terrorist act."
He added that the plane was destroyed, and the cargo was scattered over a large area.
Due to the crash, departures from the Vilnius airport were halted for two hours and resumed around 1:30 AM.
Services continue to work at the accident site, and authorities are urging people to avoid the area. The Polish Press Agency provided this information.
