By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS (Reuters) – A DHL cargo aircraft crashed because it got here into land at Lithuania’s Vilnius airport early on Monday, skidding right into a home and killing one particular person on the plane.
The three different folks onboard had been injured however nobody on the bottom was damage, officers mentioned.
The scheduled flight was operated by airline Swiftair on behalf of DHL and had taken off from Leipzig, Germany.
It crashed round 0330 GMT whereas approaching the vacation spot airport for touchdown, a spokesperson for Lithuania’s Nationwide Disaster Administration Middle mentioned.
Police and prosecutors are investigating the incident however there was nothing to recommend an explosion preceded the crash, the spokesperson mentioned.
“At the moment we don’t have any data that there was an explosion,” he mentioned.
Counter-intelligence chief Darius Jauniskis instructed reporters: “We cannot reject the possibility of terrorism…But at the moment we can’t make attributions or point fingers, because we don’t have such information.”
An airport spokesperson mentioned the aircraft was a Boeing (NYSE:) 737-400.
Rescue companies mentioned the aircraft hit the bottom, break up into items and slid over 100 metres (110 yards) earlier than crashing into the constructing.
A Lithuanian rescue companies spokesperson mentioned one particular person onboard was killed and three injured.
Police instructed a press convention 12 folks had been evacuated from the home hit by the aircraft. There have been no casualties on the bottom.
Firefighters poured water onto the smoking constructing some 1.3 km (0.8 mile) north of the airport runway and close by streets had been cordoned off.
DHL and Boeing haven’t but replied to requests for remark.
The flight had departed from Leipzig at 0208 GMT, Flightradar24 mentioned on X.
Germany is investigating a number of fires brought on by incendiary gadgets hidden inside parcels at a warehouse in Leipzig earlier this yr.
British counter-terrorism police are investigating a warehouse hearth in July, brought on by a package deal catching alight, and liaising with different European regulation enforcement companies to see if there was a reference to related incidents elsewhere.
Safety officers have instructed Reuters parcels that exploded at logistics depots in Europe had been a part of a check run for a Russian plot to set off explosions on cargo flights to the US.
Leipzig Airport operator Mitteldeutsche Flughafen (VIE:) AG declined to touch upon the crash.
