Six armed hostage-takers who held staff at a supermarket in Sundumbili on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast were nowhere to be found when police entered the building.

The police task force and K9 unit and private security officers surrounded Boxer Cash and Carry on Monday morning when staff were taken hostage, but the men managed to escape.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Brig Jay Naicker said Sundumbili police were called out to an armed robbery at the supermarket in the early hours of the morning.

“It is alleged that as staff members were arriving for work this morning, they were held up by a group of about six men armed with rifles and pistols. They forced seven of the staff members into a cold storage facility. These staff members managed to free themselves and escaped after police arrived.”

Police officers from the special task force, tactical response team and other specialists entered the building looking for the robbers.

“They found another three staff members hiding in the building. They were not harmed and were released by police. Police are still looking for the armed men,” Naicker said.

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