At least one person has died after a DHL cargo aircraft crashed into a house in Vilnius on the early morning of November 25, 2024.
The Vilnius fire department said an explosion and fire occurred, with rescuers retrieving three victims from the wreckage. The team also managed to extract the one dead person. In addition, 12 people were evacuated from the two-storey home. Some two hours after the crash, the fire was mostly extinguished and brought under the department's control.
Crews from the Vilnius Airport Fire Service were also at the scene.
“Due to the rescue work taking place in the vicinity of Vilnius Airport, the scheduled departures of several aircraft were delayed and one incoming aircraft was diverted to Riga,” Vilnius Airport said in a statement.
Jets were able to land and depart from the airport just under two hours after the crash.
The aircraft was a 737 freighter jet belonging to Swiftair - a third party carrier - and operating under contract for DHL. The plane had taken off from LEJ Airport in Leipzig.
“[The aircraft] made a forced landing about one kilometre from Vilnius Airport,” said DHL in a statement. “The cause of the accident is still unknown and an investigation is already underway.”
Boeing said in a statement that the team's “thoughts are with the crew of cargo Flight QY5690” and said it is working to “gather more information” and would provide support where required.