Paris‘s Louvre Museum has been placed on lockdown as authorities investigate a brazen theft of priceless jewels. Police have sealed off access to the museum,including a major road along the seine,focusing their inquiry on the building’s south-east corner.
The heist, discovered today, involved thieves accessing an upper floor via a large, extendable ladder mounted on a mechanized furniture lift-equipment commonly used in Paris for deliveries to upper-story apartments. The ladder reached a balcony, providing entry to the museum. the incident raises immediate questions about security vulnerabilities at one of the world’s most visited cultural institutions and prompts a wider review of safety protocols for Parisian landmarks.
A large extendable ladder, typically found on fire engines or roofing company vehicles, was used in the operation.The ladder was positioned using a mechanized lift, the type used to deliver furniture to upper floors of Parisian buildings.
Authorities are currently determining whether the ladder was already in place for maintenance or deliberately positioned by the thieves. The area surrounding the Louvre is filled with tourists, now unable to enter the museum on an overcast day. The mayor of the local area has not yet confirmed the ladder’s original purpose.
Getty Images provided photographic evidence of the equipment used in the theft.The investigation is ongoing,and further details are expected to emerge as police continue their work.
