Cash Spill from Security Van in Hong Kong Leads to Scramble, $2 million still Missing

A security van spilled bundles of cash on to the roads of Hong kong city, Wednesday.

A faulty door of a cash carrying van opened up spilling money worth about 35 million Hong Kong dollars ($4.5 million) onto the eight-lane Gloucester Road in the Wan Chai area. Witnesses said people left their cars and rushed to the road picking up the banknotes, reports the UPI.

About $15 million ($2 million) is still missing, the rest has been recovered..

"Anyone who picked up the cash concerned should hand it over to the police as soon as possible," police officer, Wan Siu-hong said, Radio Television Hong Kong reported. "Otherwise, they may have committed the crime of theft."

The South China Morning Post reported a witness describing "a regular-looking Hong Kong lady" with "an armful of bricks of cash. It was as much as she could carry. She just disappeared into the depths of Wan Chai."

Most of the cash was gone within minutes. "You couldn't make it up," a witness told the South China Morning Post. "There were 20 or 30 people picking up cash from the road on Christmas Eve. They looked like school kids who knew they were being naughty, but thought: 'This is a once in a lifetime thing.' Everyone had the same look on their face." 

Armed police arrived on the scene and cordoned off the two lanes where the cash was strewn around.

British security service company G4S was responsible for transporting the cash. A spokesperson told SCMP that it expected to be liable for the loss of millions and said an internal investigation was underway but initial reports indicated a malfunctioning door. 

Watch the video below of people rushing in to collect the cash.

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