DHL cargo plane crashes near Lithuania airport

A DHL cargo plane crashed in Lithuania early Monday while approaching an airport, killing one Spanish crew member and wounding three others on board, officials said.

Surveillance video shows the Boeing 737 coming in for a landing and disappearing behind a building. A moment later, a huge fireball exploded in the air. The footage does not show the moment of impact.

The DHL plane was operated by Swiftair, a Madrid-based contractor, and was carrying four people when it crashed at 5:30 a.m. local time when the plane arrived from Leipzig, Germany, a major cargo hub, the Lithuanian airport authority told The Associated Press.

DHL told the AP in a statement that the plane “made an emergency landing” about half a kilometer from Vilnius airport. The cause of the accident is unknown and an investigation is underway.

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Security footage shows the Boeing 737 descending as the plane begins its landing. (Arvydas Paukstys via Storyful)

One crew member, a Spanish national, was killed and three others – identified as Spanish, German and Lithuanian nationals – were injured in the crash, Reuters reported, citing local police.

The plane disappears behind a building and then a fireball erupts into the air. (Arvydas Paukstys via Storyful)

Emergency services told the outlet that the plane broke apart on impact and skidded a few hundred meters into an area of ​​residential houses. Officials said debris hit at least one house, though no one on the ground was injured.

“Fortunately, despite the crash occurring in a residential area, no lives have been lost among local residents,” Prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė told reporters according to the Associated Press.

Officials said the cause of the crash is unknown and an investigation is underway. (Arvydas Paukstys via Storyful)

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The Boeing 737 involved in the crash was 31 years old, Reuters reported, citing a Flightradar24 database.

The Associated Press analyzed flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 and found that the plane turned north of the airport to line up for landing before it crashed just over a mile from the runway.

While it is still unclear what caused the crash, the crash comes at a time when Western security officials have previously told Reuters they suspect Russian intelligence of carrying out test runs for acts of sabotage on cargo flights to the United States.

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German officials are also investigating fires that broke out earlier this year in Leipzig where flammable devices were hidden inside packages in a warehouse, Reuters reported.