A company that provides armed transportation of valuables was targeted in a spectacular robbery that included between 50 and 60 gunmen in the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este. 
 
 The amount taken in the Hollywoodesque, three-hour heist was first estimated at $40 million but Prosegur officials said it was much less. The robbers blew open one of three vaults, they said. The remaining two were not accessed. 
 
 One police officer was killed and two security guards were wounded. Some civilians also sustained minor injuries. 
 
 The violent robbery started around midnight and ended after 3 a.m., neighbors said. It has left the city in a state of panic, especially because none of the robbers has been caught. 
 
 Schools were closed Monday. 
 
 Ciudad del Este is Paraguay’s second largest city, located in the Triple Border with Brazil and Argentina. 
 
 Numerous witnesses said they heard the heavily armed men speaking in Portuguese, leading to speculation that they could be members of the First Command of the Capital (PCC), one of the largest criminal groups in Brazil. 
 
 According to reports, the assault was carried out with a wide array of weapons, including AK 47s, C4 explosives, infrared weapons, snipers and even anti-aircraft guns and a helicopter. 
 
 Police sources told Ultima Hora the robbers had between five and eight vehicles at their disposal, with which they closed the perimeter in a 600-yard radius almost an hour ahead of time. 
 
 El edificio de PROSEGUR en Ciudad del Este, esta mañana, después del feroz ataque de esta madrugada.#DiaADiaPy @AM_1080 pic.twitter.com/XBNMtPVNon — Oscar H. Acosta C. (@oscar_marandu) April 24, 2017 
 
 The Prosegur headquarters in Ciudad del Este had entered the authorities’ radar in 2015 they found a tunnel running under the building. 
 
 "They found an L-shaped tunnel that ran under Prosegur and connected to a house. Two years later, they managed to rob it," said Richard Vera, Paraná's homicide chief, as quoted by El Pais. 

 A vehicle burns after thieves set it on fire during their escape in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, Monday, April 24, 2017. According to reports, dozens of attackers armed with assault rifles used explosives... (Associated Press) 
 
 A vehicle burns after thieves set it on fire during their escape in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, Monday, April 24, 2017. According to reports, dozens of attackers armed with assault rifles used explosives to blast open the vault of an armored car company early Monday and apparently escaped by boat into... (Associated Press) 
 
 ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Dozens of attackers armed with assault rifles used explosives to blast open the vault of an armored car company early Monday and apparently escaped by boat into Brazil with a haul of cash, authorities said. 
 
 Officials said at least one police officer was killed and three civilians were injured in a blaze of gunfire and torched vehicles during the three-hour attack on the Prosegur company in the border city of Ciudad del Este. 
 
 Authorities did not release any information on how much money was stolen. 
 
 Up to 80 people may have been involved in the attack, said Arsenio Correa, investigations chief in the city. 
 
 "The criminals used snipers to guarantee the escape and torched more than 10 vehicles to distract the police," he said. 
 
 Video footage showed burned armored cars outside the crumbling remains of the company's building. 
 
 Ciudad del Este sits in the "Triple Border" region, where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet and where contraband electronics, drugs and arms flow across porous borders. 
 
 Authorities said Brazilian gangsters were suspected of being behind the attack on the armed car company. 
 
 Regional police spokesman Anibal Lima said Brazilian police found AK-47 assault rifles inside two abandoned boats in the area's Itaipu lake. 

 Story highlights Robbers storm security firm with grenades, large caliber weapons and dynamite 
 
 1 killed, 4 injured in Paraguay; 3 suspects killed in Brazil 
 
 (CNN) Eight people were arrested Tuesday in the Brazilian state of Parana, all suspects in the explosive heist of an armored car company in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. 
 
 According to a Brazilian federal police statement, six rifles, multiple automatic weapon magazines, two boats, seven vehicles and an unspecified cash amount were seized in the operation to arrest the suspects. 
 
 The robbery happened early Monday in Paraguay, near the border with Brazil and Argentina, police said. 
 
 Dozens of gunmen detonated explosives and set vehicles on fire as they stormed the company in Paraguay, taking millions of dollars and sparking a violent police chase into Brazil. 
 
 More than 50 people carrying large caliber weapons, dynamite and caltrops took part in what authorities are calling the "robbery of the century." 
 
 Read More 

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Locals said it felt as if the city was under bombardment 
 
 Brazilian police near the border with Paraguay have exchanged gunfire with members of a gang who carried out what Paraguayan officials are calling the robbery of the century. 
 
 Three gang members were killed and two injured in the clash, police say. 
 
 Earlier on Monday about 50 men moved into the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este, blew up the front of a private security firm, and fired on police. 
 
 Unconfirmed reports suggest they could have stolen up to $40m (£31m; €37m). 
 
 After the robbery, the gang created a diversion by burning cars and attacking the local police station. 
 
 Image copyright EPA Image caption The police said the men had left guns, ammunition, flack jackets and explosives in the car they abandoned 
 
 They escaped after a two-hour shootout that left one police officer dead at the scene after the company's vaults were blown up. 
 
 Police believe they fled in several of the security company's armoured trucks and then may have transferred their booty to waiting boats at the Parana river. 
 
 They were believed to have travelled 50km (30 miles) downriver to a region called Itaipulandia in Brazil, were they were intercepted by Brazilian police. 
 
 Brazilian federal police came across 12 men who exchanged fire and then escaped, Brazilian Globo website reported. 
 
 The men left guns, ammunition, flack jackets and explosives in the car they abandoned, police said. 
 
 A large security operation is under way to try to recapture the gang on both sides of the border.
– It's like a mix of The Italian Job and Ocean's Eleven, just with an alleged cast of 50 criminals. Paraguayan officials are calling it the robbery of the century: the theft of millions from private security firm Prosegur in Ciudad del Este that is said to have involved explosives, fiery diversions, and getaway boats. The BBC reports the gang allegedly blew off the building's facade early Monday while creating diversions. "The criminals used snipers to guarantee the escape and torched more than 10 vehicles to distract the police," an official tells the AP. While initial reports suggested they made off with $40 million, Fox News reports they got only one of three vaults open, leaving them with a much smaller haul. After a multi-hour gun battle that killed a cop, they fled the scene, reportedly in the security company's own armored trucks. They're said to have then boarded boats at the Parana river and traveled 30 miles to Brazil. (CNN notes Ciudad del Este is the country's second-biggest city and hugs the country's border with Brazil and Argentina.) Brazilian media reports that federal police confronted a dozen men who managed to escape after another gun battle. Authorities believe the men may be part of Brazil's criminal Primer Comando de la Capital, a conclusion that may be based on their alleged use of Portuguese. They were said to be incredibly well armed, with not just AK 47s and C4 explosives, but anti-aircraft guns and a helicopter. It's unclear if any of them have been apprehended.