A cleaning lady close to retirement age was shot dead during a robbery at the bank where she worked in the province of Toledo, the Civil Guard said Friday.

Mercedes Martín Cabrero was killed when she arrived at the bank in Santa Cruz de Retamar just after 8pm on Thursday and surprised the robbers.

The 64-year-old, who was married and had a 34-year-old son, had worked at the same bank for over 20 years.

According to eyewitness, a number of robbers were involved in the heist and were fleeing the scene when Martín Cabrero arrived. The Civil Guard said they had already arrested one person and were continuing to look for the others.

When three employees of a branch of Caja Rural Castilla-la Mancha arrived for work on Thursday morning along with a visiting director for the area they were confronted by masked men armed with pistols, who herded them into a room and tied them up, news wire EFE reported. They said while they were tied up they heard a shot. The robbers fled without taking any money.