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The vault was strewn with debris, crowbars and power tools including angle grinders and high-powered drills.
That was what the thieves left behind. What they took with them - the contents of 72 safety deposit boxes stored in the supposedly impregnable vault in the heart of London's jewellery district - is not clear, because the police and victims are not saying.
The haul is thought to have been worth millions of pounds.
But other details are emerging about the audacious Easter weekend heist in London's Hatton Garden district.
Police say the gang gained access to the vault by climbing down a lift shaft. A series of images released by investigators on Wednesday show how they then drilled through two metre-thick concrete walls to get into the vault.
It was also revealed that the gang was inside the building when police decided not to respond to an alarm that could have led them to interrupt what is believed to have been a multimillion-pound robbery.
The Metropolitan police said investigations were continuing into the decision not to send a police officer to investigate the alarm, which was triggered after the thieves had been inside the building for three hours.
Part of the efforts to work out how the robbery took place involves trying to establish how easy it would be to climb through the relatively small hole drilled through the concrete wall of the vault at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit (HGSD).
Police said the hole was 25cm high and 45cm wide. It was 89cm off the ground. Police said they were surprised by the tiny size of the hole bored through the concrete wall, bypassing the vault's reinforced metal doors.
A diamond-tipped bit on a Hilti DD350 drill was used and police say the gang left behind various other tools, including the heavy crowbars and angle-grinders that were probably used to force the boxes open.
According to police, the gang rifled through 72 secure boxes believed to contain cash, jewels and other valuables. Officers are trying to find out why only 72 of 999 boxes were opened.
After studying CCTV footage and clues, detectives believe between four and six people broke into the vault. Police said the thieves first entered at about 9.20pm on April 2 and stayed until 8.05am the next morning.
An alarm went off at 12.21am on 3 April, about three hours after the gang entered the vault area, according to timings that were released by police.
The gang returned to the vault on Saturday 4 April at about 10.17pm, staying until 6.30am the next morning. Key staff were off work because of the Easter holiday and police were only alerted to the burglary just after 8am on Tuesday 7 April.
Police say they have recovered thousands of hours of CCTV footage and are gathering all the clues left behind in the hope of catching the robbers.
Craig Turner, head of the police Flying Squad division that deals with serious crime, said: "The hours of forensic work and inquiries have been vital in order to ensure we are able to exploit all investigative opportunities and assist us in identifying those individuals responsible.
"Those safety deposit boxes not opened by the thieves during the burglary have been left secured as they were found throughout the examination. HGSD are in the process of making contact with owners to arrange collection."
Police said they were still trying to trace some of the owners. Turner said: "Of the 72 boxes opened during the burglary, we have only been unable to make contact with six people who we believe have been a victim of crime. We continue to make efforts to trace them."
Police said they were reviewing why no officer was sent after the alarm went off at the premises. "It is too early to say if the handling of the call would have had an impact on the outcome of the incident," the force said.
Those who had rented boxes at the safe deposit company have expressed anger at the burglary and police failure to respond.
No arrests have been made and detectives have not identified prime suspects.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


Hatton Garden jewel gang drilled through two-metre thick concrete to raid vault

Part of the investigation is focusing on how the robbers managed to climb through the relatively small hole they made. Photo: Reuters

Ransacked safety deposit boxes are seen strewn around the vault. Photo: Reuters

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Thieves drilled through walls two metres thick using power tools to access deposit boxes after climbing down a lift shaft on Easter weekend


The vault was strewn with debris, crowbars and power tools including angle grinders and high-powered drills.


Hatton Garden jewel gang drilled through two-metre thick concrete to raid vault

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Thieves drilled through walls two metres thick using power tools to access deposit boxes after climbing down a lift shaft on Easter weekend

Thieves drilled through walls two metres thick using power tools to access deposit boxes after climbing down a lift shaft on Easter weekend