DHL cargo plane crash in Lithuania kills 1

A DHL cargo plane crashed early Monday near the airport in Lithuania's capital, killing one person, authorities said as they searched for clues to what caused the tragedy.

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.

"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 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.

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.

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 was due to land in Vilnius.