This is the astonishing moment a gang of armed robbers opened fire on security guards before making off with nearly £200,000 in a 20-second film-style heist.
The eight men fired more than 30 shots at their victims using weapons including a machine gun in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo.
The gang members, who were all masked apart from one who posed as a supermarket shopper to tip off his accomplices, then escaped with their haul.
A guard with the cash tried to make a run for it when the criminals jumped out of two vehicles parked near the Prosegur van and began shooting indiscriminately.
Footage captures the astonishing moment a gang of armed robbers opened fire on security guards before making off with nearly £200,000 in a 20-second film-style heist
The eight men fired more than 30 shots at their victims using weapons including a machine gun in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo as they cornered a security guard and stole the cash
The gang members, who were all masked apart from one who posed as a supermarket shopper to tip off his accomplices (left), then escaped with their haul
But he was quickly cornered and forced to hand over the money before the robbers raced back to their cars and sped off.
The dramatic video, captured on CCTV cameras outside a supermarket, showed the terrifying shoot-out lasted less than 20 seconds from the moment they jumped out of their getaway cars to the moment they began their escape with the money.
The entire footage lasted just 40 seconds. The criminals got away with seven million Uruguayan pesos, the equivalent of just over £180,000.
A mystery man in jeans and a white shirt, filmed carrying a plastic bag in one hand and holding a mobile phone in the other, is believed to have watched the security guards pick up the money from inside the supermarket and leave just before them so he could tip off his accomplices.
A guard with the cash (top right) tried to make a run for it when the criminals jumped out of two vehicles parked near the Prosegur van and began shooting indiscriminately
The dramatic video, captured on CCTV cameras outside a supermarket, showed the terrifying shoot-out lasted less than 20 seconds from the moment they jumped out of their getaway cars to the moment they began their escape with the money
He started firing at the guards with a handgun after finishing his call as he walked past one of the getaway cars as the rest of the gang targeted them with weapons including a Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun and and other pistols.
Despite the military-style precision of the raid, one of the robbers dropped his phone at the scene and the mobile was today being analysed by detectives in the hope it would lead them to the men responsible.
The breathtaking crime happened around midday on Tuesday outside a supermarket belonging to the Uruguayan chain Devoto in the Sagayo neighbourhood of northern Montevideo.
Miraculously no-one was hurt, despite the fact the heist happened in daylight when many locals were doing their Christmas shopping.
A witness told a Montevideo-based TV station the men in the 4x4s ordered bystanders caught up in the drama to ‘throw themselves to the ground’ as they jumped out of their vehicles after surrounding the Prosegur van.
The guard was quickly cornered and forced to hand over the money before the robbers raced back to their cars and sped off (pictured)
One, a doctor who asked not to be named, said: ‘Around six or seven masked men with what looked like machine guns suddenly appeared from nowhere and told me not to move or they would kill me. It was all very quick. A lot of shots were fired. They told people to get on the ground because they would die if not.’
Another, known only as Mercedes, added: ‘People were panicking. It was terrible. I ran to my car and hid inside. I turned the engine on but stalled the car because I was so nervous.’
The Prosegur van was hit by at least 12 bullets. One of the security guards is believed to have fired at the armed robbers in retaliation.
Prosegur General Manager Oscar Ronda said afterwards: ‘The most important thing is that no-one was hurt.
‘The armed robbery took staff completely by surprise.’
The two getaway vehicles were found near the scene of the attack. One had been gutted using a Molotov cocktail.
Spent shotgun shells were found around the vehicles, prompting speculation the armed robbers may have fired their guns into the air to celebrate after pulling off their daring raid.