US military base on lockdown with people ’seeking shelter’
A military hub for US Navy operations in the Mediterranean is on lockdown due to an ‘ongoing situation’ this morning.
More than 4,000 soldiers and other military personnel hosted at the Italian naval air station Sigonella, near Sicily’s Mount Etna volcano, have been told to ‘take shelter’.
NAS Sigonella said: ‘Due to an ongoing situation at the NAS Sigonella entry control point, a lockdown/shelter-in-place remains in effect.
‘All personnel onboard NAS 2 are directed to follow the instructions from Naval Security Forces and monitor for updates. Inbound and outbound traffic at the NAS 2 base entry control points is secured.
‘Traffic has been redirected to the East ITAF Gate. Personnel should avoid traveling on highway SP105 between Marinai Housing Complex and NAS 2.’
An update later warned that personnel should avoid traveling on the nearby highway, SP105, between Marinai Housing Complex and NAS 2.
The entrance of the military base where the incident is reported to have taken place
It is not yet clear what has happened at the entrance of the military base checkpoint.
An alarm was raised at around 8am, prompting the emergency measures at the logistics hub.
NAS2 serves as a base for Italy’s 41st Antisubmarine Warfare Wing and also hosts more than 40 other US commands and activities.
The base is one of the most used stops for US airlift aircraft bound from the US to Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean, it is understood.
Another base nearby, known as NAS 1, includes schools, a hospital, a commissary and other facilities.
NAS2 is located about 10 miles from the coastal city of Catania, where tens of thousands of people from the UK travel to every year to holiday in the summer.
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