Explorers find no Nazi ‘gold train’

WARSAW, Poland — Explorers’ great hopes for finding a legendary Nazi “gold train” in Poland appeared dashed Wednesday when, after digging extensively, they admitted they have found “no train, no tunnel” at the site.

The legend has sparked a gold rush, drawing in drawn explorers and treasure hunters from across Europe to Poland’s southwestern town of Walbrzych.

The legend says in 1945, Nazi Germans hid a train with gold and valuables in a secret tunnel as they fled the Soviet army at the end of World War II.

Last week two explorers — Andreas Richter, a German, and Piotr Koper, a Pole — dug deep at a site near rail tracks in Walbrzych, following comments by residents who said they had knowledge of the train’s existence.

But the explorers’ spokesman said Wednesday that they found “no train, no tunnel” there and that the machines were covering over the three pits that cost $37,000 to dig.