Polish army checks site of alleged tunnel with Nazi train
By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press
Sep 28, 2015 10:05 AM CDT
Polish military experts arrive at a spot in in southwestern Poland where a Nazi train missing since World War II could be located in Walbrzych, Poland, on Monday Sept. 28, 2015. Chemical, radiation and explosives experts are checking the site to exclude any danger for local residents. The work is scheduled...   (Associated Press)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Polish military on Monday deployed chemical, radiation and explosives experts to a site in southwestern Poland where a Nazi train allegedly missing since World War II could be located.

Tomasz Smolarz, the governor of Lower Silesia, said the aim of the work in the town of Walbrzych is to exclude any danger for residents. He said the experts will continue their technical checks through Saturday.

The military's efforts come after two explorers claimed to have found a Nazi train trapped in a tunnel that they say could contain both armaments and precious minerals. The explorers' claim awaits confirmation, but it has sparked hopes it could be a Nazi train laden with treasure that local legend says went missing at the end of World War II. The train was reportedly booby-trapped with weapons.

During the war, Walbrzych was still part of Germany. Called Waldenburg, it was in an area where Adolf Hitler was building a system of secret underground tunnels. The legend says the so-called "gold train" entered one of the tunnels while fleeing the advancing Soviet army in 1945 and was never seen again.

Though there's no evidence the train even existed, news of the possible discovery has sparked global fascination in the case and a local gold rush.

The two explorers, a German and a Pole, say they used ground-penetrating radar to locate the train. The men want a reward of 10 percent of the value of the train's contents.

But it's not clear how things will turn out, even if a train is found. Last week prosecutors said they were investigating whether the men committed a crime by conducting a search with radar equipment without official permission.

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