The thieves used a large drill to break into a safe at a bank branch in western Germany and steal around 30 million euros (£26 million; $35 million) in cash and valuables, police said.
A police spokesperson compared the break-in to the Hollywood heist film Ocean’s Eleven, telling the AFP news agency it was “executed in a very professional manner”.
During the robbery of the Sparkasse savings bank in the city of Gelsenkirchen, thieves broke into more than 3,000 safes containing money, gold and jewelry.
Gelsenkirchen police said they became aware of the crime after a fire alarm was triggered early Monday morning.
Currently, no arrests have been made and the perpetrators remain at large.
Police said the thieves took advantage of the “quiet Christmas days” to rob the building on Nienhofstrasse in the Buer district.
Initial investigations suggest they managed to gain access to the bank and escape via an adjacent car park.
Witnesses reported seeing several men carrying large bags up the garage stairs overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
Police said video footage shows a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage, on De-La-Chevalerie-Strasse, early Monday morning.
The hole in the underground vault was discovered when a fire alarm went off early Monday and police and firefighters searched the building.
Affected bank customers were invited to contact Sparkasse Bank, which has set up a hotline. Police secured the entrance to the agency on Tuesday after large numbers of customers gathered outside demanding information.
“I couldn’t sleep last night. We haven’t received any information,” one man told Welt TV, according to Reuters, as he waited outside the agency, adding that it contained his old-age savings.
A message on the bank’s website said the branch would remain closed Tuesday following the break-in.
Sparkasse said 95 percent of customers’ safes were forcibly opened by the thieves, so the likelihood they were hit is “very high.”
It specifies that the contents of each compartment are insured up to €10,300 and invites customers to check whether they benefit from additional cover via their home insurance.
