A DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on November 25, 2024, in the morning, resulting in at least one fatality. According to Renatas Požėla, the head of the police, the aircraft went down shortly before it was scheduled to land at Vilnius airport. It crashed a few kilometers away from the airport and skidded for several hundred meters, causing debris to strike a residential building.
Emergency personnel were quick to respond to the situation, managing to evacuate residents from the adjacent area, although the house sustained some damage and nearby structures were set on fire. Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported that two individuals were taken to the hospital following the incident, with one later declared dead.
The Lithuanian airport authority confirmed that the aircraft, which was arriving from Leipzig, Germany, was a DHL cargo plane. They mentioned that city emergency services, including a fire truck, were dispatched to the scene post-crash.
Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 indicated that the aircraft had made a turn while aligning for landing, crashing about 1.5 km (1 mile) short of the runway. The crash occurred just before 5:30 a.m. local time, with weather conditions reported to be near freezing, cloudy, and with winds blowing at approximately 30 kph (18 mph).
DHL Group, based in Bonn, Germany, had not provided comments on the incident at the time of reporting. The plane, a Boeing 737, which operated under the Swiftair banner, is considered relatively old at 31 years of age, although such age is not uncommon in cargo operations.
Published – November 25, 2024 01:09 pm IST
Article has been taken from thehindu.com: https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/dhl-cargo-plane-crashes-into-house-in-lithuania-one-killed/article68908645.ece
