Tourists fled screaming from a blaze at Milan’s Malpensa airport today after a man set fire to bins and smashed check-in screens.
The suspect, who has not been named, was apprehended by employees at Terminal 1 on Wednesday after reportedly rampaging through the airport with a hammer.
Footage from the airport this morning showed black smoke billowing from inside the terminal as passengers ran from the scene.
Images showed a suspect being pinned to the ground. Local media reported he had been stopped by staff.
Italian outlet Varese News said an employee intervened after noticing smoke rising through the airport.
The suspect was allegedly ‘destroying the screens between desks 12 and 13’ when the member of staff dived in.
Witness Sophia Kim, a passenger who was at desk 13 at the time, told The Mirror: ‘I turned around only to see the check-in counter on the other side was on fire.’
‘It was then I started running for my life with my husband hand in hand,’ she added.
‘Everyone around me was in panic mode- screaming and running. I thought I was going to die.’
The suspect was identified across Italian media only as a Malian resident of Italy in his late 20s with no criminal record.
He did not have a boarding pass and was not a passenger, Corriere della Serra reports.
Stunned holidaymakers look on towards a fire lit in Terminal 1 of Milan Malpensa airport
Firefighters rushed to the scene to extinguish the blaze on Wednesday morning
Chaotic scenes in Malpensa airport on Wednesday after a man allegedly set fire to the airport
The brave member of staff who initially apprehended the suspect was said to have been injured in the fracas before being turned over to emergency services.
Corriere della Serra contested the claims, writing that no injuries had been reported.
‘Along with him, some of those present also intervened to prevent the attacker from attacking the people as well.’
La Stampa reported that the suspect ‘apparently directed his anger only at the airport furnishings, without attacking passengers or staff on duty’.
Border police scrambled to help restrain the man while airport security staff worked to put out the fire.
Photos of the aftermath showed thick smoke hanging in the air as bystanders watched on with their hands on their hips.
Travellers were also seen amassing outside the terminal after ‘flames and smoke invaded the area, making the air unbreathable’, Corriere di Novara reported.
Firefighters, airport staff and security staff were all pictured at the scene.
The airport continued to operate as usual, Varese reports. But Malpensa was partially evacuated, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Operations subsequently resumed, it said.
‘The presence of smoke required the evacuation of the terminal itself for safety reasons. The affected area was quickly reached and made safe,’ a spokesperson for the provincial fire service said in a later statement.
‘Operations at the airport continued without significant disruption to air traffic.’
The Lombardy Airports Association said it was expecting potential delays and cancellations from the incident.
Staff managed to apprehend a suspect and pin them to the ground
File photo shows Milan’s Malpensa Airport, Terminal 1, in 2016
No motive was clear from initial reports. The suspect was reportedly taken to a holding cell by Polaria officers, who will try to establish a motive.
A summary trial is scheduled for tomorrow, Il Messaggero reports.
The Daily Mail was unable to reach Milan Malpensa airport for comment.
Milan Airports has not publicly commented on the incident.
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