Hungry rat eats more than $17,500 of cash inside ATM in India (photos)

A money-hungry rat broke into an ATM in India and ate almost $18,000 in cash, authorities in India said.

Technicians who arrived to fix a malfunctioning ATM in the Indian state of Assam got a shock when they opened it up.

Reports estimated that banknotes between 1.2 and 1.3 million rupees ($17,662 to $19,000) had been shredded by the rats.

Police said the rodents probably entered the machine through a hole for wiring, the Hindustan Times reported.

Pictures of the chewed cash at the State Bank of India branch in Tinsukia district were widely shared on social media.

Officials at the State Bank of India (SBI) thought the machine was merely malfunctioning when patrons told them it was no longer dispensing money. 

It was "out of order" since May 20 — then technicians opened it.

Chandan Sharma, manager of the SBI branch in the town of Tinsukia in the northeastern state of Assam, told reporters "they were shocked to find shredded notes and a dead rat."