Robbers grab 70kg of gold in a dramatic French heist

Thieves held up a van transporting 70 kilograms (154 pounds) of gold in a dramatic heist near the French city of Lyon yesterday, police sources said. Four robbers used two cars to block the van at a motorway exit leading to an industrial estate north of Lyon, the sources said. After grabbing the gold and loading it into their getaway car, they locked the two security guards in the back of their van. Before making off, they set fire to their abandoned vehicle. The fire gutted the car and spread to nearby vehicles but police arrived on the scene before it engulfed the van, freeing the two guards who escaped unharmed, the investigators said. The robbery took place at an exit from the A6 motorway that connects the city with Paris. Police were hunting the assailants. France has experienced a growing number of motorway hijackings in recent years.