In the dead of night, a few days after Christmas, a safe deposit box at a bank branch in West Germany was robbed, and according to the police there, the break-in was like something out of a movie.
Using a large drill, the thieves broke into the safe and then stole an estimated 30 million euros in cash and other valuables, police said.
The burglary was "very professionally carried out," a police spokesman told Agence France-Presse, comparing it to the Hollywood heist film Ocean's Eleven (Ocean's 11), starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
During the robbery of the Sparkasse savings bank (Savings bank) in the city of Gelsenkirchen, thieves opened more than 3.000 safes containing money, gold and jewelry.
Police said they learned of the crime when a fire alarm went off in the early morning hours of December 29th.
Thieves took advantage of the “quiet Christmas days” to rob a building on Ninhofstrasse in the Bur district.
Initial investigations indicate that they entered the bank and fled through a nearby parking garage.
The thieves are being sought.
Witnesses reported seeing several men carrying large bags into the garage on the night of December 27th and 28th.
The video footage shows a black Audi RS6 leaving the garage early in the morning.
The hole in the vault's underground room was discovered when a fire alarm sounded in the early morning hours of December 29th.
The bank has set up a helpline, and customers whose money and other valuables were stolen have been asked to contact it for further information.
Police secured the entrance to the branch on December 30th when a large number of customers gathered outside the bank seeking information.
"I couldn't sleep. We're not getting any information," one of those present told Germany's Welt, Reuters reported..
He had all his retirement savings in the bank, he added.
The branch will remain closed, and the bank says that thieves opened 95 percent of clients' safes and that it is likely that a large number of them were left without money and other valuables.
The contents of each compartment are insured up to €10.300, and customers are advised to check whether they have additional coverage through insurance companies.
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