A man who was "sucked into a plane engine" at Milan Bergamo Airport has been pictured for the first time.

Builder Andrea Russo, 35, from the Calcinate county, in Bergamo, Lombardy, was sucked into a Volotea plane engine, according to Italian media. Operations at Orio al Serio Airport, also known as Milan Bergamo, came to an abrupt halt at about 10:20am local time following a "fatal accident" on the runway. Russo was not a passenger on board the plane and was not reported to have had any association with the airline, Volotea said. He is understood to have broken into the airport by driving the wrong way down a road before abandoning his car and thenrunning into the terminal.

"We are investigating on any possible relationships with the airport or the world of aeroplanes," Public Prosecutor Maurizio Romanelli said. "In the car with which he arrived at the airport, full of all kinds of material, we have not found anything that could provide any kind of explanation."

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When inside the ground floor of the arrivals area, Russo is said to have opened a security door that lead directly to the aircraft parking area. Witnesses said he was chased by officer and ran across the runway.

According to outlet La voce del Patriota, officers were unable to stop him. He then raced toward an Airbus A319 Volotea aircraft that was set to depart for Asturias, in Spain.

Sources close to the airline told local media the man was sucked into the aircraft just as it was preparing for take off. Investigators are now working on the possibility that his actions were deliberate and premeditated.

A source told Italian media: "The most accredited hypothesis, although still under consideration, is that of a voluntary act, a premeditated suicide." Flight V73511 reportedly completed a "pushback" move as it prepared to leave the airport.

In a statement on X, airline Volotea said: "We're investigating reports of an incident involving our flight V73511 BGY-OVD, which occurred on the ground after boarding was completed and ready for departure.

"We're aware that one individual has sustained serious injuries involving the aircraft engine. More information soon."

Several flights were diverted as officers carried out an investigation into what happened. B y 11:50am, nine flights had been diverted, one to Bologna, two to Verona and six that were rerouted to Milan Malpensa.

A Milan Bergamo spokesperson said in a post shared to X/Twitter: "SACBO announces that flight operations at Milan Bergamo Airport were suspended at 10.20 am due to a problem that occurred on the taxiway.

“The causes of the problem are currently being investigated by the authorities."