Vienna, Aug 29 (V7N)- A historic platinum necklace worth an estimated $4 million, featuring more than 600 diamonds weighing over 200 carats, has been stolen from a museum in Austria's capital Vienna.
The spectacular daylight robbery took place at the Museum of Applied Arts on Thursday (August 27) afternoon.
According to Austrian police, two men entered the museum after purchasing regular visitor tickets. They then smashed open a glass-protected display case inside the exhibition area and seized the valuable necklace.
CCTV footage showed that the suspects were not wearing masks. One of them was reportedly carrying a weapon resembling a firearm.
After the robbery, the two suspects fled toward Vienna Stadtpark, located south of the museum.
The historic necklace was created by renowned French jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels. It was previously worn by Queen Nazli of Egypt during the 1939 wedding of her daughter, Princess Fawzia, to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the then Crown Prince of Iran.
The necklace was brought to Vienna for a special exhibition that was scheduled to continue until September.
Museum Director General Lili Holin described the robbery as a major shock despite the museum's security arrangements. She said no one was injured during the incident, praising the staff for remaining calm.
Austrian police have launched an international investigation to track down the suspects and recover the stolen jewellery. Sniffer dogs and forensic specialists have been deployed as part of the search operation.
END/SMA/AJ
