Thieves on Sunday morning raided the world’s most-visited museum, the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, looting some historic jewels.

The thieves, according to French authorities, entered the Galerie d’Apollon building housing the French crown jewels at about 9:30 a.m. (07:30 GMT) on Sunday.

“The investigation has begun, and a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled. Beyond their market value, these items have priceless heritage and historical value,” France’s Ministry of the Interior said in a statement on Sunday, confirming the incident.

Rachida Dati, French culture minister, said the heist lasted about four minutes, adding the thieves were professionals.

“We came immediately, a couple of minutes after we received information about this robbery. To be completely honest, this operation lasted almost four minutes was very quick. We have to say that these are professionals,” she said.

In a post on X, The Louvre announced the “museum will remain closed for today for exceptional reasons.

This comes as another incident of theft in the Louvre. In 1911, Mona Lisa, the world’s most famous painting, was stolen from the museum by a former worker. But it was found after two years in Florence, Italy.

Similarly, two Renaissance-era pieces of armour were stolen from the museum in 1983. They were recovered some decades later.

Other French museums have suffered thefts of artefacts and other valuable items in recent times. Just last month, thieves raided Paris’s Natural History Museum, looting gold samples worth 600,000 euros ($700,000).