More than $2 million in cash spilled onto a major Hong Kong highway when the back door of an armored van somehow came open, sparking a frenzy as drivers and pedestrians scrambled for the money.
News service AFP reported that traffic ground to a halt on Gloucester Road in central Hong Kong as taxi drivers rushed out of their cars to make a grab for the hundreds of banknotes scattered over the busy multi-lane highway.
TV footage showed pedestrians dashing in from the sidewalk to join in the Christmas Eve melee.
Police, some of them armed with shotguns, helmets and bulletproof vests, rushed to the scene to secure the area.
More than $1.96 million spilled onto the road, police said. It was not clear how much officers managed to retrieve and how much had been pocketed by members of the public.
"Any person who finds the relevant bank notes should return them to police as soon as possible, or they may be committing a theft," police warned in a statement.
Police superintendent Wan Siu-hung said the driver of the van made it all the way to his destination, a half-hour's drive away, oblivious to the fact that his back door was open and the cash boxes had fallen out.
"When it (the van) arrived at its destination they discovered that the door was open," Wan told reporters, adding that police would use the serial numbers of the bills to conduct an investigation.
Legal experts told local media that people who kept the banknotes would be committing larceny and could face up to 10 years in jail.
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