Thieves break into a German bank’s vault from a parking lot and steal cash and valuables worth $35 million.

Berlin — Thieves used a large drill to break into the vault of a German savings bank and steal cash, gold and jewelry worth around 30 million euros ($35 million), police said Tuesday.

During the heist, in the western city of Gelsenkirchen, the thieves broke into more than 3,000 safes, they said.

With the criminals still at large, hundreds of distressed bank customers gathered outside the branch on Tuesday to demand information, but were kept at bay by police.

According to the police, the thieves broke into the underground safe of the Sparkasse savings bank from a parking lot.

Investigators suspect the gang spent much of the weekend inside, breaking into safes.

The break-in came to light after a fire alarm went off early Monday and emergency services discovered the hole.

Witnesses reported seeing several men carrying large bags in the parking lot stairwell overnight from Saturday to Sunday.

Security camera footage also showed a black Audi RS 6 leaving the parking lot early Monday morning, with masked people inside.

The car’s license plate had been stolen earlier in the city of Hanover, police said.

A police spokesperson told AFP the break-in was “indeed executed in a very professional manner”, comparing it to the heist film “Ocean’s Eleven”.

“A large amount of prior knowledge and/or a large amount of criminal energy must have been involved in planning and carrying this out,” he said.

Police said the more than 3,000 boxes had an average insurance value of 10,000 euros and therefore estimated the damage at around 30 million euros.

The theft comes as leaders of one of Europe’s most famous museums, the Louvre in Paris, seek to strengthen security following a brazen heist which saw thieves break in through an upper floor window to steal French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million. The four suspected thieves arrestedbut none of the state treasures were recovered.

Several victims of the theft in Germany told police that their losses far exceeded the insured value of their safe.

The police spokesperson said “disgruntled customers” were outside the bank branch, which did not open its doors for security reasons, after threats were made against employees.

“We are still on site and monitoring the situation,” he said, adding that “the situation has calmed down considerably.”