The plane crash that killed one person has fueled fears of Russian sabotage.
Authorities in Lithuania have refused to rule out terrorism after a DHL cargo plane crashed into a building on approach to Vilnius airport.
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The moment the DHL cargo plane crashed in VilniusCredit: East2West
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A fire burns after a Boeing 737 crashed near the airport in the Lithuanian capitalCredit: East2West
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Wreckage of a cargo planeCredit: AFP
The crash has reignited fears of a covert Russian sabotage operation following a series of mysterious explosions at DHL warehouses across Europe – including in Birmingham.
Security officials feared the package explosions were part of an attempted Russian plot to detonate cargo flights bound for the United States.
Today, a DHL cargo plane from Leipzig crashed into a house just a kilometer and a half before it was supposed to land on the runway of Vilnius airport.
Dramatic footage shows the Boeing 737 burst into flames after crashing into the double-decker at around 5.30am local time (3.30am GMT).
The stricken aircraft glided several hundred meters before hitting the property.
Shocking images show the fiery wreckage of a DHL cargo plane as emergency crews raced to put out the blaze.
Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed that the aircraft turned north of the airport, preparing to land, before crashing about 1.5 km from the runway on Žirnių Street.
Nearby residents were evacuated by emergency crews.
The cause of the crash has not been revealed.
The weather at the airport was around freezing, with clouds before sunrise and winds around 28 mph.
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The death of one person was confirmed, while the other three crew members were rushed to the hospital.
The DHL aircraft was operated by Swiftair, a Madrid-based contractor.
The Boeing 737 was 31 years old, which experts consider an older aircraft, although this is not unusual for cargo planes.
Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center sent experts to investigate.
Center head Vilmantas Vitkauskas told LRT: “According to the initial version, the incident could be related to technical problems.
– However, it is too early to talk about anything more precise.
However, the police in Lithuania refused to rule out the possibility of terrorism.
Lithuanian police general Arunas Paulauskas said: “This is one of the versions that must be studied and verified.”
Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas declared a state of emergency after the accident.
He said: “We will urgently declare a state of emergency in the area to ensure the quick liquidation of the consequences of the accident – cleaning the territory, collecting harmful materials.”
But Lithuanian National Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas said he did not believe the incident was sabotage.
He said: “So far there are no signs or facts that this is a sabotage or an act of terrorism, if we are talking about an external influence on the aircraft.”
DHL-linked explosions across Europe
SECURITY officials fear Russia may be behind package explosions at warehouses in Europe as part of a plot to detonate cargo flights to the US.
Western governments believe that Moscow could be behind a series of fires and sabotage in Europe aimed at destabilizing ally Ukraine.
On July 22, a suspicious package caught fire at a DHL warehouse in Minworth, Birmingham.
Also in July, fires broke out in a container that was supposed to be loaded into a DHL cargo plane in the German city of Leipzig.
Meanwhile, a fire at a transport hub near Jablonow, near Warsaw, Poland, took almost two hours to put out.
Polish police arrested four people – and claimed the Russian-arson fires could have been a test for future attacks on the US.
The scares are feared to be part of an orchestrated campaign organized by the Russian military intelligence agency GRU.
Moscow, which denies being behind the sabotage, is suspected of being behind other attacks on warehouses and rail networks in EU member states this year – including Sweden and the Czech Republic.
Western countries, including the United Kingdom, Britain and the United States, have repeatedly accused Russia of trying to sabotage countries that provide military and financial aid to Ukraine.
Western officials have raised the alarm about a potential Russian sabotage plot.
Governments and intelligence agencies in Europe have pointed to Moscow as the source of a series of fires and sabotage aimed at destabilizing Ukraine’s allies.
Gun-rattling Vladimir Putin – who has threatened to bomb the West – was suspected of planting a package bomb on a UK-bound flight.
The US has stepped up checks on packages from Europe after a suspicious package caught fire at a DHL warehouse in England in July.
The order was based on secret intelligence that indicated deadly sabotage plans.
Flagship carrier United Airlines has banned all mail weighing more than 16oz following a “confidential” order from the US government.
The Wall Street Journal claims that the explosives were hidden in “electric massagers embedded with an incendiary magnesium-based substance” and that it was “part of a wider Russian conspiracy.”
Four suspected saboteurs were arrested in Poland over the incident.
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The moment the plane crashed and exploded in a fireball Credit: East2West
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A rescuer walks past the wreckage of a cargo plane after it crashed Credit: AFP
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Police at the scene of the accident near Vilnius airportCredit: AFP
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