“On Monday morning, everyone’s emotions changed every few minutes. From the first shock of hearing that a plane had crashed into a block of flats, to the relief that it did not happen. From condolences to the injured and to the family of the victim, to the most important question at the moment – why did this happen?” Nausėda wrote on social media.
The president met with heads of the police, firefighters and intelligence just a few hours after the plane crash.
He called on the public to have confidence in state institutions and officials.
“We are and must be prepared for all kinds of situations. We do not know what findings of the investigation will be, but it is clear that we will never panic and take decisions that are not based on facts. Let us trust our institutions and officials,” Nausėda said on Facebook.
Swiftair’s aircraft contracted for Germany’s logistics giant DHL crashed near Vilnius Airport in an apparent emergency landing on early Monday morning, hitting part of a two-storey residential building with a wing. A Spanish pilot of the four-member crew was pronounced dead at the scene. The rest of the crew – a Lithuanian, a German and another Spaniard – were wounded and taken to hospital.