ROME: Italy’s Bergamo airport, which offers low-cost airline connections to and from nearby Milan, was temporarily closed on Tuesday (Jul 8) after a man died on a runway during take-off preparations for a flight.
Flight operations were suspended from 10.20am till midday local time (4.20-6pm GMT) “due to a problem that occurred on the taxiway,” the airport said in a statement, adding that authorities were investigating.
A spokesperson confirmed that a man had died, adding that he was neither a passenger nor a member of airport staff.
According to the ANSA news agency, the man was sucked into the engine of a departing plane. He ran toward the moving aircraft, chased by airport police who were unable to stop him, it added.
The Bergamo police had no immediate comment.
Spanish low-cost carrier Volotea said in a statement that following an incident with an engine of its 10.35am flight to Asturias, “one person who was not on board … and has no connection with the company suffered serious injuries.”
The 154 passengers on the plane were rescheduled on an afternoon flight and offered psychological support, as were crew members who may have been traumatised by the events, Volotea added.
