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US air base in Italy goes on lockdown over ‘security incident’ with ‘people taking shelter’
Naval Air Station Sigonella was locked down “due to an ongoing situation,” according to initial posts on the base's official Facebook page.
A US air base in Italy was placed under lockdown for several hours due to unspecified “security incident” on Wednesday.
Naval Air Station Sigonella stated on its official Facebook page that the site was locked down “due to an ongoing situation.”
According to the posts, whatever transpired took place at a base gate. Service men were advised to “avoid travelling on highway SP105 between Marinai Housing Complex” and a portion of the base.
The posts didn't go into detail about what transpired. The alert ended at approximately 11:25 a.m. (1025 GMT), according to a another post that was made several hours later, and travel was once again permitted on the base.
“Today’s shelter-in-place was ordered in response to a security incident. The situation was cleared at 11:25 a.m. and the shelter-in-place has been lifted. Inbound and outbound traffic lanes at the NAS 2 base entry control point are open,” the post read.
“We are grateful to our Navy Security Force personnel for their quick response,” it added.
US Navy spokesperson confirms 'there were no injuries'
There were “no injuries” from the event, according to US Navy Lt. Andrea Perez, a base spokesperson who told The Associated Press that further information would be made public later Wednesday.
NAS Sigonella is located on the island of Sicily, outside Catania. It is located on an Italian Air Force facility.
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MQ-4C Triton drones and US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft are stationed at NAS Sigonella. Additionally, the US Space Force troops stationed there are responsible for detecting any missile threats in the area.
“Sigonella has grown to be the premier logistics base in the Mediterranean as it continues to be a vital component in supporting U.S. and NATO operations within the European theater,” as per the US Navy.
Moreover, the station's main goal “is to provide consolidated operational, command and control, administrative, logistical and advanced logistical support to U.S. and other NATO forces.”
