London diamond vault heist, $370 million in losses reported

During the Easter weekend thieves using the heavy cutting equipment broke into a vault containing deposit boxes at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd., which is a home to London's diamond trade and to other types of gem specialists, says a report.

Though no details have been given by the police of what was stolen, the haul could be as much as 200 million pounds ($300 million US, or $370 million Cdn). Police will be looking for forensic and material evidence at the scene of the theft.

The report further adds that the burglars could have tunnelled their way in through one wall to access a lift shaft at the building on Friday at the start of the Easter weekend. They then rappelled down to the vault in the basement. They would have had four days to crack open a 45-centimetre-thick metal door and rifle through the boxes.

Hatton Garden is a storied area in London and the heart of the city's diamond trade. The area's promotional website says it is home to "the largest and most concentrated cluster of jewellery retailers in the UK" and has been for quite some time, says a report.

The report further adds that the jewellery district has been hit by other noted burglaries in the past. In 1987, two armed robbers made off with an estimated 60 million pounds ($111 million Cdn) worth of jewels.