The President of Lithuania admitted today that a possible act of "sabotage" remains a possibility in the investigation into the crash of a cargo plane in Vilnius that resulted in the death of the pilot.
On Monday, a Swiftair cargo plane that had taken off from Leipzig, on duty for the freight transport company DHL, crashed for unknown reasons in a residential area of Vilnius.
The plane crash resulted in the death of the pilot, a Spanish national, and injuries to the other three crew members.
The head of state, Gitanas Nauseda, said today that it is necessary for "the cause of the accident to be fully known", admitting the possibility of sabotage, although he stressed that the evidence "is limited".
Investigators have so far collected around 20 testimonies and are counting on information from the plane's black boxes, in addition to the statements of the three survivors.
After the accident, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock referred to a possible "hybrid incident".
"Hybrid warfare" is a military strategy concept that combines political interference, conventional warfare, irregular warfare and the combined use of cyber or electronic means, among others.
Regarding the German foreign minister's statements, the Lithuanian President said that Baerbock was responding to the growing "concern" of the German population about the risk, admitted by several German institutions, that explosive devices could be hidden in mail deliveries.
"This is a new phenomenon and German politicians are apparently responding to expectations with rhetoric", Nauseda added, without elaborating.
In the meantime, the analysis of the plane's wreckage continues.
The Vilnius police chief, Arunas Paulauskas, is confident that the inspection can be completed in the next "two or three days", after the entire fuselage has been removed.
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