Nazi tank train? The radar image published by Polish newspaper Gazeta Wroclawska.
RADAR images said to show a buried Nazi train have been published by Polish media, further heightening excitement that a fabled treasure lies buried in a forgot railway siding.
The two pictures said to be ground-penetrating radar surveys of the site discovered by two men late last month were published in the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wroclawska.
The fuzzy reflected radar beams appear to show a string of carriages, some loaded with what the newspaper identifies as armoured mobile artillery pieces.
However, one academic interviewed by the newspaper says the images indicate the whole exercise is a hoax. Dr Jerzy Zietek of the Polish Academy of Mining said he’s never seen radar scans that look like the leaked images, and points out that “the sections indicated as cannons have a different resolution to the other sections”.
EYES ON THE GROUND
Late in August, Poland’s deputy culture minister Piotr Zuchowski said ground-penetrating radar images had made him “99 per cent convinced” the train exists. He also stated the train appeared to be heavily armoured, indicating it was of the type often used to transport valuables and secrets.
Whether the radar scan he was referring to was the higher resolution image or a more obscure scan said to have been produced by the pair of treasure hunters who have lodged a formal claim for a cut of the value of any discovery is not clear.
BREAKING: This is the original geo-radar scan of #goldtrain used by the finders as proof pic.twitter.com/RAhzXgotfr
— Exen (@Exen) September 4, 2015Andreas Richter and Piotr Koper issued a legal letter to the district council of Walbrzych demanding assurances they would get a 10 per cent cut if they disclosed the train’s location.
Thave since backtracked on their claims that the train may have been loaded with a cargo of looted gold, art and tungsten
MORE TUNNELS FOUND?
Another treasure hunter scouring the hills and cliff around Walbrzych at the weekend claimed to have found two previously unidentified Nazi tunnels.
Krzystof Szpakowski told local media he had found part of a secret underground complex belonging to Project Riese (Giant), a scheme which may have been to create an impenetrable hideaway for Adolf Hitler.
#GOLDTRAIN FEVER: ANOTHER tunnel discovery announced by local authorities https://t.co/qPMtEhscQt pic.twitter.com/c1enjGPzec
— Exen (@Exen) September 14, 2015“The Nazis built a whole underground city in this region with an area of 200 hectares ... that was supposed to allow Hitler’s inner circle to survive for a couple of years in case of an atomic attack,” Szpakowski told reporters.
Szpakowski also produced ground-penetrating radar images to back up his claims.
“There could be anything there, but especially military equipment and construction material,” he said, adding that it would be “irresponsible” to suggest the contents include treasure.
EXCAVATIONS CONTINUE
Polish authorities are continuing preparations to excavate the buried railway siding, with trees and shrubs covering the mound set to be cleared.
The train is said to be buried under 12 metres of rubble and soil in what used to be a siding carved out of a hillside, not a secret tunnel as initially reported.
#goldtrain site cleanup via @prwpl https://t.co/mhySXPR9mZ pic.twitter.com/sEbzP3W4Ai
— Exen (@Exen) September 14, 2015Military explosives and chemical experts have been called to the scene, demonstrating fears that whatever may lay beneath could include unexploded ordnance.
Police and rail authorities are continuing to patrol the surrounding hills to keep excited treasure hunters out of the area. One such hunter recently died when he fell into a pit in a nearby old cemetery.
Alleged #goldtrain site pic.twitter.com/jZQpo8Mi3E
— Exen (@Exen) September 9, 2015Justice: SAS Style49:31
The story of Britain's SAS War Crimes Investigation Team, which was led by the legendary Maj. Eric Alistair "Bill" Barkworth.
