Italy’s Bergamo airport, which offers low-cost airline connections to and from nearby Milan, was temporarily closed on Tuesday after a man died on a runway during take off preparations for a flight.

Flight operations were suspended from 10.20am to 12pm local time (8.20am-10am GMT) “due to a problem that occurred on the taxiway”, the airport said in a statement, adding that the incident was being investigated by authorities.

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 to death by the engine of a departing Volotea flight. The Italian press office for the Spanish low-cost carrier was not immediately available for comment.

The Bergamo police had no immediate comment either.