Alain Prost reportedly injured in robbery at Swiss home

GENEVA: Four-time Formula One world champion Alain Prost was reportedly injured during a robbery at his home in Switzerland, according to Swiss media, while police confirmed that a family in Nyon was targeted in a violent break-in earlier this week.

Switzerland's largest-selling newspaper Blick reported that Prost, 71, suffered a minor head injury in the incident. One of his sons was compelled to open the family safe and that the attackers escaped with its contents.

The Vaud cantonal police said in a statement issued on Thursday that a family living in Nyon, northeast of Geneva, was robbed at home on Tuesday at around 8:30am (0630 GMT). When contacted by AFP on Saturday, police did not identify the victims and declined to say whether the case involved the Prost family.

Police statement and investigation

According to the police statement, the assailants entered the residence while the occupants were inside, threatened them and forced one family member to open a safe before fleeing with stolen property. Authorities said an extensive search was launched, but the suspects had not yet been caught.

The Vaud cantonal police said the public prosecutor's office had opened a criminal investigation and that efforts were continuing to identify and arrest those responsible.

In its statement, the police said:

Several masked individuals entered the house. Once inside, they threatened the occupants and slightly injured one family member in the head, under circumstances that are still being investigated.

The perpetrators then forced another family member to open a safe before fleeing with stolen goods, of which the precise inventory is currently being assessed.

The Vaud cantonal police immediately deployed a large-scale search operation

Police said the response involved the Vaud cantonal police, the Nyon regional police, a dog unit, security officers, the forensic science unit, the customs and border security office, the French gendarmerie and a psychological support team for the family.

A Vaud police spokesman told AFP on Saturday that the investigation remained under way, but did not say whether any arrests had been made.

The spokesman said:

Every effort is being made to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of the attack

Regional context and Prost's career

Blick said the Lake Geneva region had seen a troubling pattern over the past year of burglaries targeting wealthy residents, with cross-border gangs from neighbouring France often seeking high-end watch collections.

Prost raced in Formula One from 1980 to 1993 for McLaren, Renault, Ferrari and Williams. He won the drivers' championship in 1985, 1986, 1989 and 1993.

Only Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Juan Manuel Fangio have won more Formula One world titles than Prost. Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen have also claimed four championships.