The Austrian authorities have activated a wide search operation this Friday to locate those responsible for the theft of several jewels, including a necklace valued at five million euros, stolen from the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, located in the capital of the country.
According to the initial investigations by the Police, one of the alleged assailants was armed with a pistol and the involved parties would have broken a display case of the museum using a hammer, before seizing the necklace from the high jewelry brand Van Cleef & Arpels and fleeing.
For now, the museum's management has confirmed that no victims or injuries have been reported during the assault. The robbery was captured by the security cameras in the area and the images are being analyzed, according to information released by the newspaper "Die Presse".
The security forces have detailed that the necklace includes precious stones that once belonged to the Egyptian queen Nazli Sabri, the second wife of King Fuad I. The piece, dated 1939, is composed of 673 diamonds set in platinum.
Currently, the Viennese museum exhibits hundreds of creations from Van Cleef & Arpels within an exhibition dedicated to the jewelry house. The robbery took place during the museum's visiting hours and the security personnel were unable to intercept the suspects, as they were armed.