Gunmen broke into a branch of the bank Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia, taking advantage of the Christmas holiday.

According to German media reports, the perpetrators used a special drill, drove through a nearby parking lot, and managed to break into the bank’s premises, where they opened a large number of safe deposit boxes.

After the burglary, they allegedly fled in a car, and the incident caused great disturbance to the bank’s customers. When the news broke, about 200 people gathered outside the branch, with some bursting into tears and others shouting, demanding to enter the building. Police had to intervene to defuse the situation and proceed to record and secure the evidence.

Among those affected are families who say they had kept a lifetime’s savings in the lockers. “All our money was there,” one family said, describing the shock they suffered.

According to the German Press Agency (dpa) and other media, 3,200 safety deposit boxes were breached, affecting more than 2,500 people with loot of up to 30 million euros.

In a press release, police said several thousand safety deposit boxes had been broken into. Initial estimates put the damage at tens of millions of euros.

The bank said it is already in discussions with the insurance company. “We want to help customers understand what documents they need to submit.”