Thieves Drill into a German Bank and Steal Euro 30 Million

Thieves stole tens of millions of euros worth of property from safety deposit boxes inside a German bank vault that they drilled into Monday during the holiday lull, police said. 

Some 2,700 bank customers were affected by the theft in Gelsenkirchen, police and the Sparkasse bank said. 

Thomas Nowaczyk, a police spokesperson, said investigators believe the theft was worth between 10 and



90 million euros ($11.7 to 105.7 million).

German media reported that the theft could be one of Germany's largest heists. 

A fire alarm summoned police officers and firefighters to the bank branch shortly before 4 a.m. Monday. 

They found a hole in the wall and the vault ransacked. Police believe a large drill was used to break through the vault's basement wall.