Thieves pull off huge diamond heist at Brussels airport

BELGIUM: Armed robbers have pulled off a spectacular heist at Brussels airport, making off with millions of euros worth of diamonds, Belgian public television reported on Tuesday.

The raid saw the gang of thieves hit a Brinks security truck as its contents were being loaded onto a Swiss aircraft bound for Zurich, it said.

VRT public television initially spoke of the haul being worth 350 million euros ($465 million), but later changed their figures to 50 million euros.

If confirmed, the robbery would be one of the biggest diamond heists of all time.

Belgian prosecutors confirmed that a raid had been carried out at the airport but did not specify what was stolen. They were expected to provide more details at a press conference later in the day.

A statement from the airport said the robbers drove through barriers onto the tarmac to get airside on Monday evening.

Reports said no shots were fired, no-one was injured and the heist was completed within a matter of minutes. One of the vehicles was found afterwards burnt out near the airport, local police added.

AFP