Heavily armed raiders burst into South Africa’s most famous hotel and robbed guests at the bar.
Two car loads of balaclava-wearing men stormed the five-star Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town just before midnight on Tuesday after overpowering a guard.
Wealthy tourists enjoying nightcaps had jewellery and phones stolen while raiders with sledgehammers smashed open jewellery display cases.
Police said a task force has been set up to find the robbers.
Prince Andrew is among former guests of the hotel.
A Belmond spokesman said: “We can confirm that an incident occurred on Tuesday 16 July at Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel. The members of staff and four guests affected are safe and the hotel remains open as usual. The safety and security of our guests and staff is our utmost priority and we have robust security arrangements in place across our global portfolio, which we regularly review.
“We would like to thank the Belmond Mount Nelson team for their professional handling of this incident and for the support that they have provided to those present or affected. The relevant authorities have been notified and we are supporting the police with their investigation. We are unable to comment further while this investigation is ongoing.”
