A DHL cargo plane crashed into a house during its approach to land at Lithuania's Vilnius airport early on Monday, resulting in the death of one person and injuring three others on board, according to officials.
The flight, operated by SWIFT airline on behalf of DHL, had taken off from Leipzig, Germany before the crash occurred around 3:30am GMT, as stated by a spokesperson from the governmental National Crisis Management Centre. The spokesperson clarified that there was no evidence to suggest an explosion preceded the crash.
An airport spokesperson confirmed that the plane was a Boeing 737-400. Police reported that 12 people had been evacuated from the house that was struck by the plane. Rescue services indicated that the plane hit the ground and slid at least 100 meters (110 yards) before colliding with the building.
The head of the national crisis management centre announced that the cause of the crash was under investigation. Firefighters were observed at 5:30am GMT dousing a smoking building located approximately 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) north of the airport runway. A significant police and ambulance presence was noted in the vicinity, with several major streets cordoned off.
The flight had departed from Leipzig at 2:08am GMT, according to Flightradar24 on the X social media platform. Germany is currently investigating several fires caused by incendiary devices concealed within parcels at a warehouse in Leipzig earlier this year, as disclosed by the country's prosecutor general in October. British counter-terrorism police subsequently announced that they were examining a warehouse fire in July, ignited by a package catching fire, and were coordinating with other European law enforcement agencies to determine if there was a connection with similar incidents elsewhere.
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