A cargo plane crash near Vilnius airport in Lithuania on Monday morning has left at least one person dead and three others injured. The Boeing 737, operated by Swiftair for DHL, went down as it was approaching the airport for landing, crashing near a residential area.
The flight, which had departed from Leipzig, Germany, shortly after 03:00 local time, was carrying a four-member crew. The crash occurred about an hour and a half later, according to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24.
Authorities confirmed that all 12 people in a nearby house were safely evacuated, and the crew members on board the aircraft have all been accounted for. Firefighters were seen battling smoke from a building located 1.3 kilometers north of the airport runway.
The crash site has not been linked to any explosion, and authorities are currently investigating the cause. A DHL spokesperson confirmed the plane was owned by the company, adding that the aircraft had made an “emergency landing.”
Lithuanian officials stated that the Boeing 737-400, which was 31 years old, crashed just a few kilometers from Vilnius airport. The crash slightly damaged a nearby house and caused infrastructure fires, though all residents were evacuated safely.
Reports indicate that the weather at the time of the crash was cold, with temperatures around 0°C (32°F), cloudy skies, and winds of about 30 km/h (19 mph).
The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
