A DHL cargo plane crash landed in Lithuania, killing one crew member, but authorities say it’s too soon to link it to suspected Russian sabotage operations.
„It is premature to associate it with anything or to make any attributions“, State Security Department chief Darius Jauniskis told reporters.
Images from the crash site in the capital Vilnius showed debris from the plane and packages on fire scattered across the residential area, which had been cordoned off by the emergency services.
„We cannot rule out the case of terrorism. We have warned that such things are possible, we see an increasingly aggressive Russia. but we cannot make any attributions or point fingers yet“, Jauniskis said.
U.S. and European law enforcement agencies have been working together for weeks to investigate whether incendiary devices that detonated in July at DHL logistics hubs in Germany and Britain were part of a larger agencies, the highest level of the Russian government, or by outside individuals acting in the interests of Russia, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News in early November. operation directed by Russian military intelligence
According to the Lithuanian police, the plane, flying from the eastern German city of Leipzig, skidded several hundred yards before hitting the residential house that was set on fire, along with smaller buildings and a car.
Renatas Pozela, head of the firefighting and rescue department, said one person from the plane’s four-member crew died in the crash that happened as the plane came in to land in Vilnius.
