Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily ordered a lockdown on Wednesday morning. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes)
A major U.S. Navy air base in Europe was locked down and personnel ordered to shelter-in-place for several hours on Wednesday after security officials became aware of a possible vehicle bomb, the Navy said.
After an investigation, officials at Naval Air Station Sigonella on the Italian island of Sicily determined there was no threat, the base said in a statement the same day.
Security forces were alerted at 7:45 a.m. to an item suspected of being a bomb in a flatbed truck at an entry gate to the base’s operational site, known as NAS 2, base officials said. NAS 2 includes flight operations and other commands.
“Italian explosives disposal specialists, in coordination with host nation police, inspected the vehicle and determined it was not a threat,” the base said in the statement.
The people involved were nonmilitary personnel who were questioned by Italian authorities, Lt. j.g. Andrea Perez, a spokeswoman for NAS Sigonella, told Stars and Stripes in a separate statement. They left the area shortly after the incident was resolved, she said.
An Italian defense official said that it was a “false alarm that triggered all the due procedures.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Personnel were evacuated from the immediate area and the entry point was secured, the base said. At 8:38 a.m., the base issued a shelter-in-place for personnel on NAS 2.
A nearby military housing complex and the base’s NAS 1 site, which is located about 7 miles away and includes a hospital, hotel, commissary and schools, were not under threat, according to the statement.
“We are grateful to our Navy security force personnel for their quick response,” the base said.
Operations at Sigonella include Navy P-8 Poseidon patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, an MQ-4C Triton drone detachment and a Space Force contingent.
The base is the Navy’s second largest security command, behind only Naval Support Activity Bahrain in the Middle East, according to the service.
