One person has d!ed and three people have been injured after a DHL cargo plane crashed this morning, Nov. 25, near the Lithuanian capital.
The Lithuanian airport authority identified the aircraft as a “DHL cargo plane flying from Leipzig, Germany, to Vilnius Airport.”
A search is currently under way for a fourth person.
The plane, operated for DHL by the Spanish cargo airline Swiftair, crashed near a house as it was on its final approach for landing, local authorities said.
Police said 12 people have been safely evacuated from a house close to the crash site.
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the country’s National Crisis Management Center said: “One crew member was found without any signs of life, two were rescued, they were taken to hospital.”
The incident happened at about 5.30 am local timenear Zirniu Street, south of the capital, an airport spokesperson said.
“The city’s special services are working at the scene and leading the rescue efforts, as well as crews from the Vilnius Airport Fire Service,” the airport spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said due to “ongoing rescue work near Vilnius Airport,” departures for several aircraft have been delayed but that all scheduled flights were still taking off.
It posted on the social platform X that city services including a fire truck were on site.
Two people were taken to hospital by medics, one of them was pronounced d£@d.
These are the people who were on board the plane, according to initial data, said Saulius Raševskis, a representative of the Situation Coordination Unit of the Fire and Rescue Department (PAGD).
Watch video below.
Video shows the moment a cargo plane crashed into residential building while approaching to Vilnius International Airport in Lithuania, sparking a massive fire. At least 1 dead, 3 injured.pic.twitter.com/kVQQJupw3S
— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) November 25, 2024