Five armed men broke into a bank
from an adjacent building in Rome's Portuense district Monday,
attacked and disarmed the security guard and held the staff
hostage but the robbery failed when the director, the only one
there who knew the code to the vault, had a bad turn, local
sources said.
The would-be robbers escaped shortly before the police
arrived on the scene.
The staff were reported to have been shaken up but unharmed.
The incident happened shortly before 16:00 local time when
the gang, wearing masks and wigs and carrying guns, broke in
dressed as building workers through a hole in the wall of the
adjacent garage.
The five were said to be probably Italian.
Citizens outside the bank, who noticed what was happening,
called the police but they arrived just too late to catch the
gang.
An all-Rome manhunt has been launched with the help of a
helicopter.
The Rome flying squad is on the case.
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