DHL cargo plane crashes near Vilnius Airport in Lithuania, killing 1, injuring 3
One person was killed when a cargo plane crashed early Monday morning as it came in to land at Lithuania's Vilnius Airport.
In a press release, the airport confirmed the crash, which it said was reported at 5:30 a.m. local time. Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's minister of foregin affairs, confirmed on social media site X that one crew member was killed.
Three others aboard the aircraft survived the crash, including the pilot, according to reports. The crash sent debris flying into a nearby house, but no one on the ground was reportedly injured, officials told Reuters.
The cargo plane, operated by airline Swiftair on behalf of DHL, had taken off from Leipzig, Germany, and was due to land at Vilnius Airport.
Officials were still investigating the cause of the crash and had not yet ruled out that it may be sabotage, Reuters and others reported.
"We cannot reject the possibility of terrorism," Lithuanian counter-intelligence chief Darius Jauniskis told reporters, "but at the moment we can't make attributions or point fingers, because we don't have such information."
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1 killed, 3 injured after cargo plane crashes into home
The plane, a Boeing 737-400, crashed while approaching Vilnius Airport to land, a spokesperson for Lithuania's National Crisis Management Center told Reuters. Flightradar24 data showed the flight had departed from Leipzig early Monday morning.
Security camera footage shared by CNN showed an aircraft descending behind a warehouse, followed by an explosion of bright red and orange lighting up the night sky and plumes of thick smoke. Rescue services told Reuters the plane hit the ground and split into pieces, with some debris hitting a house.
A Lithuanian police spokesperson said one person onboard, a Spanish citizen, was killed, Reuters reported. Three others were injured, including a Spanish, German, and Lithuanian citizen. At a press conference, police said 12 people were evacuated from a house hit by debris but that no one on the ground was killed.
A spokesperson for the National Crisis Management Center said police and prosecutors are investigating the crash.
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Cause of crash near Vilnius Airport under investigation
USA TODAY left a message Monday morning with both DHL and Swiftair seeking comment.
A DHL spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY that the plane that crashed was contracted by the company, but provided no other details.
A spokesperson for DHL, which has reportedly launched its own investigation, told Reuters that the cargo airplane was carrying "regular parcels."
The crash led to the delays of several departures at the airport, while one incoming aircraft was diverted to Latvia's capital of Riga, the airport said in its statement. Aircraft has since been cleared for landing and departure at Vilnius.
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