Would-be robbers armed with a pneumatic drill dug a tunnel from a Paris subway station into the basement of a bank in the early hours of Sunday but failed to seize any cash or valuables, a police source said. The attempted robbery of BNP Paribas is the third time this year so-called "termite gangs" have tried to rob a bank by digging a tunnel into the building.
It is not known whether the three incidents are related. A BNP Paribas spokesman was unavailable for immediate comment. The gang dug into the bank's basement, possibly via the sewage system, but failed to enter the safety deposit room.
They aborted the attempt and started a fire to cover their tracks, which set off alarms and alerted police. Digging equipment, including a pneumatic drill, was found at the scene.
"The individuals left the premises before they could reach the safety deposit room of the bank," Paris police headquarters said in a statement. Last weekend, a Credit Lyonnais branch in Paris was broken into by tunnel-digging robbers who cracked almost 200 private safes, according to police. A branch of Caisse d'Epargne in a Paris suburb was robbed at New Year in a similar fashion.
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