Milan’s Malpensa Airport was partially evacuated after a man set fire to a check-in area counter. Social media posts show the chaos inside Terminal 1 of Malpensa airport as a fire engulfs one of the desks. After he set that on fire, the man began attacking the digital screens nearby before being detained.
No injuries were reported, according to an Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera.The incident happened around 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT), August 20 and emergency services were alerted to reports of an “agitated man” in the terminal.
The man appeared to use a hammer to bang on a wall with screens and a large advertising kiosk near the fire, before a bystander approached him shouting “get down”. The man then hits him on the head with a fire extinguisher.
Others surround the suspect, who is then pinned to the ground, calling for police, and one of the volunteers threw what appeared to be a hammer away. The man was arrested and the situation was brought under control, according to the Lombardy Airports Association.