World

DHL Cargo Plane Crashes Near Vilnius Airport, Killing One

by AFP
written by AFP
(Photo by Petras MALUKAS / AFP)

A DHL cargo plane crashed early Monday near the airport in Lithuania’s capital, killing one person, authorities said as they searched for clues to what caused the tragedy.

Lithuanian officials, who in the past weeks have been probing alleged acts of sending incendiary devices on Western-bound cargo planes, stopped short of linking the crash with that investigation.

“So far, there are no signs or evidence suggesting this was sabotage or a terrorist act,” Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas told reporters, adding the probe to establish the cause could take “about a week”.

Images from the crash site in the capital Vilnius showed debris from the plane and packages on fire scattered across the residential area cordoned off by the emergency services.

“We cannot rule out the case of terrorism. We have warned that such things are possible, we see an increasingly aggressive Russia… but we cannot make any attributions or point fingers yet,” State Security Department chief Darius Jauniskis said.

According to the Lithuanian police, the plane, flying from the eastern German city of Leipzig, skidded several hundred metres, hitting the residential house which was set on fire, smaller buildings, and a car.

The firefighters confirmed one person from the plane’s four-member crew died in the crash that happened as the plane was due to land in Vilnius.

Police later said the deceased person was Spanish, and that the remaining three crew members were Spanish, German and Lithuanian nationals.

Head of National Crisis Management Centre Vilmantas Vitkauskas said the residential building was successfully evacuated, with its 12 residents moved to safety.

“We were woken by the sound of an explosion. Through the window, we saw the wave of explosions and a cloud of fire. Like fireworks,” Stanislovas Jakimavicius who lives around 300 metres (985 feet) from the crash site told AFP.

– ‘Emergency landing’ –

German logistics company DHL said the cargo aircraft was operated by its partner SwiftAir and had made an “emergency landing” in Lithuania.

“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.

Lithuanian police Chief Arunas Paulauskas said investigators had gone to the hospital to talk to the pilots.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.

Earlier this month Lithuania carried out arrests as part of a criminal probe into sending incendiary devices on Western-bound planes.

According to Polish and Lithuanian media, the devices, including electric massagers implanted with a flammable substance, were sent from Lithuania to the UK in July and could be behind a lorry fire outside Warsaw.

UK anti-terrorism police last month said they were investigating how a parcel burst into flames at a depot earlier this year, after a similar case in Germany blamed on Russia.

The Lithuanian president’s chief security advisor blamed Moscow for the incidents.

“We know who the source of these operations is. It is Russian military intelligence,” Kestutis Budrys told Ziniu radio earlier this month.

“We cannot let this go unanswered as it will only escalate into the new kinds of actions,” Budrys added.

Poland and Lithuania, both NATO members bordering Russia, are staunch allies of Ukraine, frequently warning about Russian-inspired sabotage on EU soil.

SAU/MMP/GIV

© Agence France-Presse