Armed robbers held 25 people hostage at a Crédit Agricole branch in Naples for two hours on Thursday before escaping through a tunnel into the sewers, police said.
The three thieves entered the bank in the Arenella district at around 11:30am, taking staff and customers hostage. Police freed all hostages by 1:30pm without serious injuries, according to Naples prefect Michele di Bari.
Emergency services smashed windows to enter the bank, but the robbers had already fled through a hole in the floor. The company managing Naples’s water network has been inspecting the sewer system, local media reported.
It was unclear whether the robbers escaped with any loot. Reports suggest they targeted safety deposit boxes, and no cash was inside the bank. A hostage told local media that the robbers, who were armed but did not use violence, locked them in a room.
Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri attended the scene. A similar robbery occurred at a Crédit Agricole branch in Milan in 2020, where robbers used the sewer network to access safe-deposit boxes.
