DHL Cargo Plane Crashes in Vilnius: 1 Dead, 3 Injured, Investigation Underway

DHL Cargo Plane Crashes in Vilnius: 1 Dead, 3 Injured, Investigation Underway

Vilnius, Lithuania -- A DHL cargo plane crashed into a house Monday in the capital of this Baltic nation, killing one person on board and injuring three passengers, authorities said.

The plane was flying from Leipzig, Germany, but around 5:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET Sunday) it crashed on Pea Street, an arterial road running through the city, less than a mile short of its destination airport.

"According to preliminary data, a cargo aircraft with 4 people crashed near the Vilnius International Airport at 5.30 AM local time. 1 person was proclaimed dead, 3 injured," Lithuania's national police force told media in an emailed statement.

According to a statement released by the Department of Fire Protection and Rescue, "it was found out that a cargo plane crashed and a house nearby caught fire. From preliminary data, three victims were rescued from the plane wreckage, and one dead was pulled out."

The cause of the crash has already been put under investigation.

According to Reuters, a government spokesperson for its National Crisis Management Center confirmed that residents of the house survived the crash. Reports indicated that police said in a news conference that 12 people had been evacuated from the house.

According to Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT, the Republic Vilnius University Hospital was treating two people wounded in the accident, without making it clear about their condition.

In a statement, Vilnius Airport confirmed the crash and said special services and rescue teams are working at the site.

While the investigation begins into the crash, speculation will quickly turn to whether it could have been an act of sabotage.

Western security officials have accused Russian agents of sending two incendiary devices to DHL hubs in Germany and the United Kingdom as part of a larger plot to start fires on board planes bound for America.

In July, a package exploded at a DHL depot in Leipzig and another burst into flames at a DHL depot in Birmingham, England.

Police in Poland said it arrested four people in connection with the plot.

The national prosecutor's office of Poland stated that the saboteurs "intended to test the transfer channel for such parcels which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier this month dismissed these reports as "vague misinformation" and said they were not supported by evidence.

A Swiftair 737-400 operated for DHL crashed in a residential area short of the runway while attempting to land in Vilnius this morning at approximately 03:30 UTC. https://t.co/FxzJhUlLZL pic.twitter.com/IylMZiFKtf

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 25, 2024