Germany: Hostages freed at bank after suspects flee scene

A siege is over after armed suspects took bank employees hostage after intercepting a cash transport in Germany.

Police sealed off the area, but the suspects were not found after having fled the scene.

Police on Friday said a hostage situation was over at a bank in the western German town of Sinzig, with no injuries.

Suspects were no longer at the scene when special forces searched the building, officers said, with two hostages locked in a vault room who were freed unharmed.

What do we know about the incident?

Among the hostages is the driver of a cash transport vehicle.

A man had approached the employee outside the bank at about 9 a.m.

local time (0700 GMT/UTC), threatened him, and forced him inside, with both believed to be in the vault area, according to media reports.

Authorities sealed off the entire downtown area and called in special forces.

Police said they were being very cautious with information, in part because "someone could possibly be listening in."
Jürgen Fachinger, a police spokesman in the nearby city of Koblenz, had said earlier that there were no indications of dead or injured parties.

He did not say whether police or other authorities had made contact with the hostage takers.

According to the police, no customers were among the hostages.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn, Dmytro Hubenko