Three hooded men steal a safe from the hotel in Núria and escape on a sled.

BarcelonaA stacked safe, a sled stuck in the snow, and a mystery hangs over the Núria sanctuary, a snowy hollow nestled in the mountains accessible only by train, rack railway, or by hiking uphill. This is the current scene at the Ripollès ski resort, following a robbery that has yet to result in any arrests.

It all happened Sunday night. Security cameras recorded three masked individuals entering the ski and snow equipment rental area. From there, they managed to enter the hotel, according to police sources, and opened several rooms. They stole some cash and came across a heavy safe. Unable to open it, they took it with them.

The logistical problems, however, were several: the box was very heavy, everything outside was covered in snow, and it wasn't as simple as loading it into the car and fleeing, since the Núria Valley is inaccessible by private vehicle.

500 meters by sled

According to the police reconstruction of events, the thieves used a sled to try to transport the safe along the rack railway tracks. However, the security system found it wedged in a kind of ravine. It is still unclear what happened, and several hypotheses are being considered: the first is that the thieves lost the safe; the second is that they tried to push it down the ravine to see if it would break. However, it remained intact. In total, they managed to advance about 500 meters. Another police hypothesis is that the thieves took the rack railway up and waited in the area until nightfall, waiting for the right moment to commit the robbery. However, the investigation by the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) is ongoing.