Armed robbers managed to break into a bank by crawling through an intricate sewer network before disappearing back into the tunnels to flee police.
The elaborate heist saw two robbers walk into the main entrance of a Crédit Agricole branch on Piazza Ascoli in Milan and point guns at staff, shortly after opening time at 8.30am on Tuesday.
Two more members of the gang emerged from a manhole inside the bank that connects to an underground tunnel.
The robbers wrestled with the bank manager, who yelled “It’s a robbery” and held him and another staff member hostage as dozens of police officers surrounded the bank.
The bank manager was reportedly hit on the head with the butt of a gun and an employee managed to escape. No other staff were harmed.
Scene after the robbery at the bank Credit Agricole in Milan, Italy
NurPhoto/PA ImagesPolice surrounded the robbers who set off a fire extinguisher giving them time to escape back down the manhole.
Officers lost them in the maze of underground tunnels.
The robbers took 20 safe-deposit boxes, but it is not yet clear what they contained, Italian media reported.
Speaking to reporters outside the bank after the ordeal, the manager said: “They entered from the basement. There were three of us inside when I realised what was happening and shouted. There was a short scuffle but they did not beat me.”
Robbery At The Bank Credit Agricole In Milan
NurPhoto/PA ImagesMilan prosecutors have opened an investigation.
