Police chief: Terrorism not ruled out in Vilnius plane crash

Lithuania's police chief told reporters on Monday that a terrorist attack could not be ruled out as the reason why a cargo plane crashed near the Vilnius airport earlier in the morning.

"This is one of the versions that needs to be investigated and verified. There is still much work ahead of us," Arūnas Paulauskas said at a press conference.

The crime scene investigation, evidence collection, and gathering of information and objects might take an entire week. Paulauskas said. "These answers will not come so quickly."

The head of the Lithuanian rescue service, Renatas Pozela, said at a press conference that the plane crashed a few kilometres from the airport, skidded several hundred metres, and its debris hit a residential building. The aircraft was a cargo plane flying for DHL that had taken off in Leipzig in eastern Germany.

The house had two floors, four flats, and three families lived there. All 12 residents are safe, Pozela said. The plane's fire has been contained and is no longer spreading.

The spokeswoman for the Lithuanian rescue service, speaking to the Lithuanian news agency Elta, said the plane was completely destroyed by the flames. Six fire engines and a water transport vehicle are at the scene, and a rescue coordination centre has been set up.