1 feared dead as DHL cargo plane crashes in Lithuania

A DHL cargo plane en route from Germany to Lithuania tragically crashed near Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, early on Monday morning.

According to firefighters, the crash resulted in the death of one person. The plane, which was carrying cargo, went down close to the Vilnius airport, prompting emergency responders to quickly arrive at the scene.

Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the crash, as they work to provide more details on the incident.

“The plane was due to land at Vilnius airport and crashed a few kilometres away,” Renatas Pozela, the head of the firefighting and emergency services unit said, adding that one person in the four-member crew died.

A house caught fire during the crash in unclear circumstances.

Vilmantas Vitkauskas, the National Crisis Management Centre head, said everyone inside the house had been evacuated.

DHL official Ausra Rutkauskien confirmed the plane belonged to the company.

DHL reacts

German logistics company DHL said Monday a cargo aircraft operated by its partner SwiftAir had made an “emergency landing” in Lithuania, where local authorities reported one person killed in a crash.

“We can confirm that today, at approximately 4:30 am CET, a Swiftair aircraft, operated by a service partner on behalf of DHL, performed an emergency landing about one kilometre from VNO Airport (Vilnius, Lithuania) while en route from LEJ Airport (Leipzig, Germany) to VNO Airport,” it said in a statement.

“A total of four people were on board. The status of the crew is still being clarified, but our thoughts are with them and their families. The cause of the incident is currently unknown, and an investigation is already underway.”

(AFP)