In a shocking incident, a cargo plane crashed into a residential house near Vilnius Airport in Lithuania, killing one crew member on board.
But what’s even more astonishing is that three others on the flight, including the pilot, survived the horror crash, along with 12 members of the household who were safely evacuated.
The Crash: A Timeline of Events
The cargo plane, flying from Leipzig, Germany, was supposed to land at Vilnius Airport when it crashed just a few kilometers short of the runway. According to eyewitnesses, the plane skidded on the ground for several hundred meters before hitting the house, causing a massive fire.
Rescue Efforts and Investigation
Lithuanian authorities sprang into action, with firefighters and emergency services rushing to the scene. Renatas Pozela, chief of the Fire and Rescue Department, described the scene as “chaotic” but praised the quick response of the rescue teams.
The investigation into the crash is still ongoing, with authorities saying it’s too early to determine the cause. Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the country’s National Crisis Management Center, said that “circumstances and causes” are being looked into.
The Aftermath: Casualties and Damage
One crew member was found dead at the scene, while at least two others were taken to hospital for treatment. Fortunately, there were no reported casualties on the ground, despite the plane crashing into a residential area.
The house, located on Zirniu St, suffered significant damage, with firefighters battling to put out the flames. The airport spokesperson confirmed that departures for several aircraft had been delayed due to the ongoing rescue work, but all scheduled flights were still taking off.
The Cargo Plane: What We Know
The cargo plane that crashed was a Swift Air aircraft operating under contract for DHL, the logistics company confirmed. DHL said in a statement that the plane had made a forced landing about one kilometer from VNO Airport and that the cause of the accident was still unknown.
Eyewitness Accounts and Theories
Vilnius mayor Valdas Benkunskas described the plane as “narrowly missing” the house directly, crashing instead into the nearby courtyard. Firefighters were seen pouring water onto the building as a large plume of smoke billowed into the sky.
The head of the Lithuanian Police, Arūnas Paulauskas, said that the incident was “most likely due to a technical fault or human error” but added that terrorism “cannot be ruled out”. Paulauskas said that the collection of evidence could take the whole week and that there would be no quick answers.