Lax security cited at Munch

The Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, could remain closed until June while officials upgrade its security system following a brazen daylight robbery in August of two Edvard Munch masterpieces.

The city-owned museum on Thursday released a report that it had commissioned after the Aug. 22 armed robbery and said the security flaws it found could cost as much as $7.8 million to fix and take until June to complete.

Three masked robbers, including at least one with a pistol, took “The Scream� and “Madonna� and fled in a stolen car. The museum has been closed for a security study since shortly after the theft. There has been no sign of the paintings or word from the thieves.

The museum had alarms, surveillance cameras and unarmed guards at the time of the theft. The study by Norwegian safety and ship’s classification group Den Norske Veritas pointed to a long list of measures that might have helped, including metal detectors, additional security cameras and a guard post outside.