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Police in the US state of Ohio say tens of thousands of dollars are missing a day after a bag of cash fell from an armoured car, sparking a money grab.

A mad rush to pick up $20 bills broke out after the bag fell from the car in Columbus and split open.

It is unclear how much cash was in the bag, but US media say it was at least $100,000.

Officers are reviewing mobile phone and surveillance videos to identify who has the missing cash.

"It's not free money," said a police sergeant.

If people were found with the missing cash they would be charged, Sgt Dan Kelso told Associated Press news agency.

He said he did not know how the bag of money fell from the armoured car.

Witnesses told local media that people were scooping up as much cash as they could carry.

"People were jumping out of their vehicles," one person said.

Another described it as like a feeding frenzy by "a school of piranhas".