At least one person has been killed after a Boeing 737-400 cargo plane crashed near a residential area in Vilnius, Lithuania, early on Monday morning, local authorities have confirmed.
The incident occurred around 5:30am local time when the aircraft, operated by Spanish charter firm Swiftair – on behalf of German logistics company DHL – and traveling from Leipzig to Vilnius Airport, went down in the municipality of Liepkalnis, just meters from a house.
Local media reports that the crash ignited a fire at the scene, but the house was not directly impacted nor were its residents harmed.
Authorities evacuated a dozen people from the area as a precaution. The crash has killed at least one of the four crew members on board, a pilot, while two other crew members, including the second pilot, were rescued from the wreckage showing signs of life.
Emergency services rushed to the scene, where paramedics and fire crews worked to contain the fire. Renatas Pozela, spokesperson for the Fire Protection and Rescue Department, described it as “lucky” that the plane struck the yard instead of the house itself, avoiding further casualties.
Photos from local media show a large fire burning in the urban area next to several homes, with emergency responders at the scene. Officials confirmed that Vilnius Airport’s operations were not disrupted by the crash.
The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, with authorities focusing on the details of the plane’s descent and the fire it caused upon impact.