Swiss police, surprised to find an empty building when they stormed the Spanish consulate to capture would-be robbers, have launched a search for the three suspects who forced their way into the mission and held three employees hostage before fleeing.

Swiss special forces stormed the Spanish consulate in the capital, Berne, today to bring an end to a near six-hour seige only to find the suspected robbers had fled.

A siege of the Spanish consulate in the Swiss capital Berne is still going on, police in Switzerland have said.

Unidentified individuals took over the Spanish consulate in Switzerland’s capital Bern this morning, police said.