DHL Cargo Plane Crashes In Lithuania, Kills One

A DHL cargo plane flying from Germany to Lithuania crashed early Monday near the airport of the capital Vilnius killing one person, firefighters said.

“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.

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)

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.

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.

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“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.”

Source: AFP