At least one dead as DHL cargo plane crashes into houses during approach to Vilnius Airport
25 November 2024, 07:03 | Updated: 25 November 2024, 07:08
A DHL cargo plane has crashed into a house near Lithuania’s capital on Monday morning, leaving at least one person dead.
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Local broadcasters reported that two people were taken to hospital following the crash, with one later confirmed dead.
“One crew member was found without any signs of life, two were rescued, they were taken to hospital,” said Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the country’s National Crisis Management Center.
The aircraft struck a two-story house near Vilnius Airport, according to LRT.
The Lithuanian airport authority identified the plane as a “DHL cargo aircraft flying from Leipzig, Germany, to Vilnius Airport.” It stated on the social platform X that city emergency services, including fire crews, were at the scene.
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 spokesperson added that “ongoing rescue work near Vilnius Airport” has caused delays to several departures, but all scheduled flights were still taking off.
Authorities have not yet provided a cause for the crash. Weather conditions at Vilnius International Airport included temperatures around freezing and cloudy skies before sunrise.
Vilnius mayor Valdas Benkunskas said the plane narrowly avoided hitting a house, instead crashing into a nearby courtyard, LRT reported. Benkunskas confirmed that all 12 residents of the house survived.
The plane was operated by Swiftair, a Madrid-based contractor, which also could not be immediately reached for comment.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737, was 31 years old—a relatively older airframe, though not uncommon for cargo operations, experts noted.
