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A gunman has been shot dead by police after armed robbers stole up to £8.5 million from a plane in a deadly heist at an Albanian airport.

Police arrested four people and question 40 others after gunmen broke onto the runway of Tirana airport and stolen cash which was to be transported to a bank in Vienna.

Officers shot dead one of several gunman in an exchange of fire during a chase as the suspects drove away with the shipment of money after dramatic heist on Tuesday.

"The perpetrators exchanged fire with the police during the chase in a secondary road and one of them lost his life in that exchange," a police statement said.

Local media reported that the dead man was found with an assault weapon, a grenade and magazines with bullets. Elite police aided by an helicopter were giving chase to at least three of his accomplices still on the loose.

Witnesses on the plane targeted by the thieves said the aircraft's engines were running when three people wearing masks and military fatigues stepped up to the belly of the plane, threatening staff with guns and ordering them on the ground.

Police confirmed a sum of money had been stolen but did not say how much. Reports initially said of a sum of €2.5 million (£1.7 million) being stolen, but later said it might be five times as much (£8.5million).

Albania-based foreign banks ship out hard currency via air through Rinas airport to Vienna, because the central bank does not accept their deposits of hard currency.

The shipments have been attacked recent years, once at the airport and twice on the road leading to the airport. Police retrieved some of the money from the last robbery after finding it stashed underground in pressure cookers.

