A plane crashes into the yard of a house in Vilnius: is Russia involved?
25 November 10:15
This morning in Vilnius, a cargo plane of the German company DHL crashed into the yard of a two-story residential building near the airport, reports Komersant ukrainskyi reports citing Lithuanian media.
According to preliminary data, there were four people on board: two pilots and two employees. One of the pilots died, the other was hospitalized in serious condition. Two employees of the plane were also injured and rescuers freed them from the wreckage.
The plane crashed next to a two-story residential building with three families. All 12 residents of the building were evacuated, none of them were injured. The fire that started after the crash was localized. The plane itself was completely destroyed by fire.
The plane was on a flight from Leipzig, operated by SWIFT Air, and leased by DHL.
“Russian trace”?
The head of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, said that the crash was preliminarily classified as an accident. However, according to Police Commissioner General Arunas Paulauskas, the possibility of a terrorist attack cannot be ruled out.
“This is one of the versions that needs to be thoroughly checked. It may take a whole week to collect evidence and analyze it,”
– he said.
DHL has recently experienced incidents that may indicate targeted actions against it. For example, in July, DHL’s logistics centers in Leipzig and Birmingham were hit by explosions that, according to Western intelligence, were part of an operation by Russian intelligence services. At the time, explosive devices disguised as electric massagers were planned to be used to blow up cargo and passenger planes.
A preliminary investigation into the Vilnius crash has been opened under an article that provides for liability for improper maintenance of vehicles that led to the death of people.
