ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION

STORY: Dozens of looters stormed a supermarket on the outskirts of the Argentine mountain city of Bariloche on Thursday (December 20).

Around 9:30 a.m. local time, the assailants - many of whom used masks, scarves and sunglasses to conceal their faces - entered the "Changomas" supermarket and pillaged vast quantities of goods, including LCD televisions, food, clothes and bicycles.

Parked cars, believed to belong to the thieves, lined a street close by.

Police tried to control the situation using water cannon and barricades, but eventually resorted to dispelling tear gas in attempts to drive out the steady stream of looters.

The thieves responded by throwing rocks at police and reporters.

Cars parked in the supermarket parking lot were also ransacked for goods and vandalized.

While authorities believe that the majority of looters were adolescents from the surrounding underprivileged neighborhoods, entire families, including little children, participated in the robbery.

There were no reports of injuries.