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Bank robbers in Italy hold 25 people hostage

Logo and sign of Credit Agricole Bank
Three robbers entered a branch of the French Credit Agricole bank in Naples (stock image)

Bank robbers in Italy held 25 people hostage for two hours this morning, before making their escape through a tunnel, an Italian police source said.

Three robbers, one of whom "was certainly armed", entered a branch of the French Credit Agricole bank in Naples at around 11.30am (10.30am Irish time), the source told AFP.

They took hostage customers and employees, who were rescued some two hours later, he said.

No injuries were reported.

"Thanks to the swift response... all the hostages were freed shortly after 1.30pm, without serious injuries," Naples Prefect Michele di Bari said in a statement.

Police broke windows to get inside the bank, according to local media footage from the scene.

But the robbers escaped through a tunnel, the police source said.

It was not immediately clear whether the thieves had managed to make off with any loot.