Successful coup

ATM blown up: perpetrators flee with loot

(Bild: FOTOKERSCHI.AT / KERSCHBAUMMAYR)

And it went boom! On Tuesday night, numerous residents in the center of Windhaag near Freistadt were startled out of their sleep. Although the police were alerted immediately, the apparently highly professional perpetrators managed to escape. The amount of the loot is likely to be considerable.

Unknown persons blew up the ATM of a bank in Windhaag near Freistadt at around 2.30 am. The detonation was so powerful that several windows in the surrounding area were shattered.

Glass shattered, pieces of equipment were thrown around and banknotes flew through the air. The bank building itself was severely damaged in the explosion and the cash machine was completely destroyed.

A witness was able to see a car speeding away. But when the police arrived, there was no trace of the perpetrators. As it turned out, the ATM burglars were able to escape with their loot in an unknown direction. This is likely to be considerable.

In the previous year, there had also been blasts in the Mühlviertel in Aigen/Schlägl, St. Stefan am Walde and Reichenthal. These were probably carried out by an internationally active Dutch gang. One suspect was caught and arrested by the police there while fleeing to the Czech Republic.