Scores of treasure hunters this week descended on the hills surrounding Wałbrzych, in south-west Poland, after the deputy culture minister, Piotr Zuchowski, said last week he had seen contours of the train on an image from a ground-penetrating radar device. Military explosives experts will “verify security aspects linked with possible mines” and propose further steps to “either confirm or deny” the discovery, he said.
Advertisement
Two anonymous treasure hunters claimed they had identified where the train, which is believed to be carrying a cargo of jewels, gold and guns, is buried. “It is essential that every measure is taken to return the property to its rightful owners or to their heirs, ” said WJC CEO Robert Singer ina statement, calling on the Polish authorities to take “appropriate action in that respect”.
At a press conference Friday, Zuchowski said he was “more than 99 percent certain that this train exists”, according to The Associated Press.
“The defence minister decided to send technical equipment to search the area in order to determine whether a train actually exists”, Defence Ministry spokesman Jacek Sonta told AFP.
“The army is acting at the request of the governor of the region concerned”, it continued.
On Monday police blocked off the presumed location of the train along a stretch of active railway tracks to prevent accidents as curious people swamp the area, which is near the city of Walbrych.
A Polish non-government organisation has filed a complaint with state prosecutors against Zuchowski, saying his claims of the train’s existence are unfounded and have led to government funds being wasted on securing the area.
Complex Osówka, part of an underground town/tunnel system built by Nazi Germany during project Riese.
Advertisement
Regional officials on Monday downplayed speculation about the discovery, saying new documents about the location of the lost armored train weren’t any stronger than similar claims made in past decades. In 1944 and early 1945 the Nazis were building bunkers for Adolf Hitler in the mountain under the castle and in other mountains around Walbrzych, a fact that has given rise to beliefs that they hid a gold train in one of the tunnels, while fleeing the Red Army.
