Passengers 'run for their lives' as fire breaks out in Milan Airport terminal

Alarming footage shows screaming tourists fleeing from the blaze inside Terminal 1, as billowing black smoke filed the area.

The man, who has not been named, had reportedly started the inferno and was allegedly seen rampaging through the airport with a hammer.

He was apprehended by employees, who were seen in images pinning the suspect to the ground.

Witnesses told Italian outlet Varese News that the man was allegedly "destroying the screens between desks 12 and 13" before a staff member stopped him.

Border police then arrived to help restrain the man, while airport security worked to extinguish the fire.

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Sophia Kim, a passenger who was at desk 13 at the time, said she and her husband started "running for their lives" after seeing flames on the other side of the check-in counter.

Speaking to The Mirror, Ms Kim said: "Everyone around me was in panic mode- screaming and running. I thought I was going to die."

Italian media reports the suspect, a Malian resident of Italy in his late 20s, did not have a boarding pass and was not a passenger.

He was taken to a holding cell by officers, who are still trying to establish a motive.

No injuries have been reported, as the suspect "apparently directed his anger only at the airport furnishings, without attacking passengers or staff on duty", La Stampa reports.

No flight delays or cancellations resulted from the incident, but the airport was partially evacuated.

Travellers were seen gathering outside the terminal, as thick smoke hung in the air.

"The presence of smoke required the evacuation of the terminal itself for safety reasons. The affected area was quickly reached and made safe," a spokesperson for the provincial fire service said in a later statement.

"Operations at the airport continued without significant disruption to air traffic."