WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Two men appeared Friday on Polish TV saying they are the finders of a Nazi train said to be laden with gold - a claim that came as the Polish military inspected the alleged site in southwest Poland.
Identifying themselves as Andreas Richter and Piotr Koper, the men appeared on TVP.INFO. Contacted by The Associated Press by phone, Richter confirmed he had found the train.
Authorities in the southwest city of Walbrzych said last month that two men had contacted them through lawyers claiming they had found an armored train that possibly contains valuables and weapons. The report sparked a gold rush around Walbrzych, where tales have circulated since World War II that the Nazis hid a train full of gold from the Soviet Army in early 1945.
"As the finders of a World War II armored train, we, Andreas Richter and Piotr Koper, declare that we have legally informed state authorities about the find and have precisely indicated the location in the presence of Walbrzych authorities and the police," Koper said, reading a statement on TV with Richter sitting at his side. "We have irrefutable proof of its existence."
Their knowledge is based on information from witnesses and on their own research, carried out with their own equipment, Koper said in his statement.
TVP.INFO said the train is not in a tunnel, as previously believed, but buried in the ground. Koper said the two men are ready to cover the costs of the train's retrieval and want it to become a local tourist attraction.
TV cameras on Friday showed Polish military officials checking the purported site in the woods, which police are patrolling to keep the swarms of treasure hunters from digging up.