Lithuanian officials, who in the past weeks have been probing alleged acts of sending incendiary devices on Western-bound cargo planes, stopped short of linking the crash with that investigation. “So far, there are no signs or evidence suggesting this was sabotage or a terrorist act,” Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas told reporters, adding the probe to establish the cause could take “about a week”.

According to the Lithuanian police, the plane, flying from the eastern German city of Leipzig, skidded several hundred metres, hitting the residential house which was set on fire, smaller buildings, and a car. The firefighters confirmed one person from the plane’s four-member crew died in the crash that happened as the plane was due to land in Vilnius. Police later said the deceased person was Spanish, and that the remaining three crew members were Spanish, German and Lithuanian nationals.

German logistics company DHL said the cargo aircraft was operated by its partner SwiftAir and had made an “emergency landing” in Lithuania. “We can confirm that today, at approximately 4:30 am CET, a Swiftair aircraft, operated by a service partner on behalf of DHL, performed an emergency landing about one kilometre from VNO Airport (Vilnius, Lithuania) while en route from LEJ Airport (Leipzig, Germany) to VNO Airport,” it said in a statement.

UK anti-terrorism police last month said they were investigating how a parcel burst into flames at a depot earlier this year, after a similar case in Germany blamed on Russia. The Lithuanian president’s chief security advisor blamed Moscow for the incidents. “We know who the source of these operations is. It is Russian military intelligence,” Kestutis Budrys told Ziniu radio earlier this month. “We cannot let this go unanswered as it will only escalate into the new kinds of actions,” Budrys added.

Poland and Lithuania, both NATO members bordering Russia, are staunch allies of Ukraine, frequently warning about Russian-inspired sabotage on EU soil.