Two hostages were freed unharmed after armed suspects stormed a bank branch in western Germany and triggered a major police operation before escaping the scene.
Police sealed off the centre of Sinzig in Rhineland-Palatinate on Friday after reports of a hostage situation inside a Volksbank branch. Officers said at least one suspect remained at large hours after the incident ended.
The operation began around 9am local time when a man approached a cash transport driver outside the bank, threatened him and forced him into the building, according to police statements.
Investigators believe the suspects then moved into the bank vault area and took at least one more person hostage. Police later confirmed that no customers were among the captives.
Special police units surrounded the area as officers evacuated streets around the bank in the town centre between Bonn and Koblenz.
Police spokesman Jürgen Fachinger said officers were limiting the release of information during the operation because “someone could possibly be listening in”, according to Deutsche Welle.
Authorities said they were working on the assumption that multiple suspects were involved. Police did not confirm how many people entered the bank or how the suspects escaped.
German newspaper Bild reported that special forces entered the bank during the afternoon and found two hostages locked inside a room. Both were released without injuries.
Reuters reported that at least one suspect fled before police entered the building. Officers later said the hostage takers were no longer inside when tactical teams searched the premises.
Police believe the suspects left the bank shortly after barricading themselves inside the vault area, though investigators have not explained how they managed to escape despite the security cordon.
The motive remains unclear. Investigators are continuing to search for the suspects and question the released hostages about the sequence of events inside the bank.
HT