Latest news Germany: Hole in vault triggers rush of bank customers
Unknown persons have broken into a bank building in the German city of Gelsenkirchen and ransacked several safe deposit boxes. According to the police, the perpetrators used a large drill to get into the vault.
29.12.2025, 15:28
SDA
Shortly after the burglary became known, around 200 people came to the affected savings bank branch to get more information, as a reporter from the German Press Agency (dpa) observed. The break-in was discovered early on Monday morning by a fire alarm that was received by the fire department at 3.58 am.
Heated atmosphere on site
The crowd in the bank was so large that police officers arrived and cleared the bank's vestibule. Some people were upset. There were repeated loudspeaker announcements from the police to calm the situation. A policewoman explained to the assembled crowd that the savings bank would be proactively approaching customers over the next few days. This could take several days after the forensics have been completed.
Initially, around 30 customers had gathered in the anteroom of the branch. Several customers asked whether they had been affected by the break-in. The worried customers also asked if they could inspect their safe deposit box. An employee of the savings bank denied this. The branch will remain closed until further notice, as can be read on a sign.
The police are still securing evidence, a spokesman for Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen told dpa. They do not yet have an overview of how many safe deposit boxes were affected by the break-in. Customers were waiting for information, but the bank was also partly dependent on the police.
Perpetrators escaped undetected
According to initial findings by the police, the perpetrator or perpetrators gained access to the savings bank building via a parking garage. The route then led through an archive room, the wall of which was finally broken through to the vault. A special drill was hardly used. "You can't get that drill in a DIY store," explained a police spokesperson.
A photo published by the police shows numerous files thrown on the floor in the archive room. There are wooden shelves on the walls to the right and left. In the middle of the wall, the circular hole to the vault is gaping in the wall. Numerous bricks are also missing from the site.
Firefighters and police officers searched the residential and commercial building to detect a possible fire. They reportedly came across the remains of the perpetrators or the perpetrator.
The investigation into the extent of the damage is expected to take some time. This is because the investigators need to know what was stolen from the safe deposit boxes. The bank should first contact the customers concerned.
Open questions
Many questions remain unanswered. For example, it is unclear why the fire alarm system triggered the alarm during the night. But the question of when exactly the movie-like break-in took place also still needs to be clarified. The Christmas holidays and last weekend could be possible.
"As yet unknown perpetrators used the quiet of the Christmas period to drill a hole in a vault with a large drill and search the safe deposit boxes inside," explained the police.
The police are looking for witnesses who have heard suspicious noises over the past few days. Among others, the residents of the residential and commercial building are to be questioned. A lady in a café next to the bank told the dpa reporter that she had heard two detonations during the night. According to her, she is a neighbor near the parking garage.
