A DHL cargo plane flying from Germany to Lithuania crashed early Monday near the airport of the capital Vilnius killing one person, firefighters said.
Lithuanian rescuers work next to the wreckage of a cargo plane following its crash near the Vilnius International Airport in Vilnius on November 25, 2024. (Photo by Petras MALUKAS / AFP)“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.
Lithuanian law enforcement officers work at a cargo plane crash site near the Vilnius International Airport in Vilnius on November 25, 2024. (Photo by Petras MALUKAS / AFP)
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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.
This photograph taken on November 25, 2024, shows the wreckage of a cargo plane in the courtyard of a house following its crash near the Vilnius International Airport in Vilnius.(Photo by Petras MALUKAS / AFP)
DHL official Ausra Rutkauskien confirmed the plane belonged to the company.
This photograph taken on November 25, 2024, shows the wreckage of a cargo plane following its crash near the Vilnius International Airport in Vilnius. – A cargo plane flying from Germany to Lithuania crashed early on November 25, 2024, near the airport of the capital Vilnius killing one person | AFP
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
