Robbers used explosives to force open a door at a Dutch museum stealing several gold masterpieces, museum officials said in a statement.
Police received a report at 3:45 a.m. local time Saturday about an explosion at the Drents Museum in Assen. Upon arrival, officers found the museum damaged and the gold masterpieces gone. CBS news reported.
A gold Cotofenesti helmet on loan from the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest and three Dacian royal bracelets were stolen by the thieves. The artifacts were on display in an exhibit, "Dacia - Empire of Gold and Silver," the museum said.
"This is a dark day for the Drents Museum in Assen and the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest. We are intensely shocked by the events last night at the museum. In its 170-year existence, there has never been such a major incident," said Harry Tupan, general director of the Drents Museum.
