BOTTOM PHOTOS: The three images on bottom ? released by the FBI in Philadelphia ? are security camera images of women dressed as nuns attempting to rob a bank in Tannersville, Pennsylvania, on August 28, 2017. AFP/FBI Philadelphia; BACKGROUND: Still image from the movie 'Nuns on the run'

 

NEW YORK: Police are searching for two would-be robbers disguised as nuns, after a failed bank heist in a sleepy Pennsylvania town.

Surveillance footage released by the FBI shows two suspects wearing long nuns' robes and black veils, with white wimples covering their hair and parts of their faces. One was also holding a gun.

Authorities say the pair entered a Citizens Bank branch in the town of Tannersville, near the northeastern Poconos Mountains, around midday Monday.

One suspect walked to the teller's window and demanded money while the other, whose face was partially-hidden by sunglasses, stood a short distance back, the FBI said.

Local television said the pair took off after an employee triggered alarm bells. The FBI said they "fled the bank empty-handed".

An FBI spokeswoman said she was unaware of any other recent plots involving thieves disguised as nuns.