Early on Monday morning, a cargo plane flying for the German logistics company DHL crashed near Vilnius International Airport in Lithuania, tragically resulting in the death of at least one individual, according to reports from the DW.
The aircraft, operated by SWIFT airline, had departed from Leipzig, Germany and was nearing Vilnius when it went down. Renatas Pozela, head of the Lithuanian rescue service, explained that the plane skidded for several hundred meters before coming to a stop. The debris impacted a residential house, causing a fire in the surrounding infrastructure, though the house itself sustained only minor damage. Twelve residents were successfully evacuated from the building, as per Lithuanian officials.
Emergency services were alerted at 5:28 am local time (0428 CET), with city services and fire crews quickly arriving at the scene. Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas said that the aircraft narrowly missed crashing directly into the house, landing instead in the courtyard.
The cause of the crash remains unknown, but Lithuanian police chief Arunas Paulauskas has not ruled out terrorism as a potential motive. He cautioned that the investigation, including evidence collection and crime scene analysis, could extend over the next week.
Despite the crash, Vilnius International Airport operations remain unaffected. As of now, DHL Group, headquartered in Bonn, Germany, has not issued an official statement regarding the incident, as reported by DW.