Bank robbery fails in Rome

(ANSA) - Rome, October 15 - 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.