German Foreign Minister questions if DHL cargo plane crash was a 'hybrid incident'

Authorities search for answers as they continue their investigation after a Boeing 737 cargo plane operated by Swiftair crashed into a house near Vilnius Airport in Lithuania on Monday morning.

The DHL cargo plane, which flew out from Leipzig in Germany, crashed on its approach to the airport in the Lithuanian capital. A Spanish crew member was killed, and three other people on board were rushed to the hospital, one of them who is in critical condition. No one on the ground was reportedly injured.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Italy, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock raised the question of whether the DHL cargo plane crash in Lithuania was a hybrid attack.

"We have to say at this point that we and our Lithuanian partners must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident or, after last week, another hybrid incident? That shows what volatile times we are living in in the middle of Europe," she said.

Lithuanian officials said one line of inquiry woud look at Russian involvement but stressed that there is no evidence yet.

Last month, Western security officials warned that Russian military intelligence may be carrying out sabotage acts against nations in retaliation for their support to Ukraine.

Darius Jauniškis, who is the chief of Lithuania's Intelligence mirrored these concerns and said terrorism cannot be ruled out, "the State Security Department, together with the Department of Operational Services, have warned that these things are possible in the future. We see Russia becoming more aggressive." He added that however for now, "we really cannot make any attributions or point fingers at anyone, because there is no information about it.”

Lithuanian Minister of Defence