Orihuela Costa bank blown up in failed robbery

Los Dolses branch has been targeted several times in the past

A spectacular attempted robbery destroyed the exterior of a bank in Orihuela Costa not long before dawn on Monday morning, September 22.

Explosives were used to try and remove the cash machine from the branch of BankInter in the older Los Dolses commercial centre, on the corner of Calle Algorrobo, near Villamartín.

The blast went off at about 5am, and shattered the glass walls on two sides of the ground floor unit, leaving the offices inside exposed.

The cash machine itself was severely damaged but Orihuela local police have confirmed that nothing was stolen in the end.

According to local press, a taxi driver had pulled up outside the bank just before the explosion, and saw two men wearing balaclavas tampering with the ATM.

He said one of them came over and told him to go away, but he parked out of sight and watched as the blast went off.

The taxi driver called the local police and saw the two men run away towards the roundabout on the Villamartín road.

Officers cordoned off the area and spent several hours combing the surroundings for any evidence, including a search of the nearby Cañada de las Estacas ravine.

Court appointed Guardia Civil have taken charge of the investigation and the bomb squad (GEDEX) was called in to analyse the explosive device.

Orihuela Costa residents' association Unidos por la Costa has long been campaigning for a greater police presence in the area, pointing out that half of the arrests made by Orihuela local police in the whole municipality in 2024 were made around the coast.

This is not the first, or even the second time that this bank branch has been targeted by criminals.

The cash machine was only moved to its current position inside the commercial centre after a previous attempt to rip it out of the wall, when it used to be on the street-facing side of the building.

The most shocking incident was in 2009, when the director of the bank was assaulted in her own home and forced to open the branch while her family were held hostage, enabling the assailants to get away with approximately €50,000, according to reports at the time.

Image: Unidos por la Costa

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