Lithuania orders sheltering after unidentified flying object detected
Authorities told residents in central and northern areas to shelter for about one hour; NATO jets scrambled and Kaunas airport closed.
Lithuanian authorities this morning ordered residents in central and northern parts of the country to move into protective shelters for roughly one hour after an unidentified flying object was detected, the army and the National Crisis Management Centre said.
While the highest-level “red” air-danger alert was in force, fighter jets from NATO’s air policing mission were scrambled to the area to monitor and intercept the object.
Officials also temporarily closed Kaunas airport, near Lithuania’s second-largest city, as a precaution while the situation was being assessed.
The order to shelter applied to populated areas in the central and northern regions and lasted for about an hour before authorities lifted the alert.
No further details about the object’s origin or whether it was recovered were released in the immediate aftermath, and authorities said investigations and airspace monitoring would continue.
Security response and public instructions
Military and civil-protection services remained on heightened alert after the incident, and residents were urged to follow official safety instructions and updates from the National Crisis Management Centre.
Photo: AP)
