August 31, 2015 1:25 PM EDT
A uthorities rushed to blockade a stretch of train track in rural Poland after the reported discovery of an abandoned train reignited long-held rumors that a Nazi train, freighted with gold and gems, had supposedly vanished into the hills in the spring of 1945.
Dozens of treasure hunters, some equipped with metal detectors, have swarmed into the wooded hills outside of the city of Walbrzych in southwest Poland, the AP reports . Governor Tomasz Smolarz said that police have been deployed to block entry points into the woods and ensure infiltrators do not attempt to walk along the still active train tracks and risk an accident.
The gold rush surged after deputy Culture Minister Piotr Zuchowski reportedly said that ground-penetrating devices appeared to show the contours of a train in an underground passage.
World War II Erupts: Color Photos From the Invasion of Poland, 1939 Refugees near Warsaw during the 1939 German invasion of Poland. (Sign reads, 'Danger Zone -- Do Not Proceed.') Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Burned-out tank, Warsaw, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Adolf Hitler (right) prepares to fly to the Polish front, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Post-invasion Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Unfinished Polish bombers, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Near Sochaczew during the German invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Polish soldiers captured by Germans during the invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Polish soldiers and a Red Cross nurse captured during the invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Captured Polish soldiers, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images German troops prepare for victory parade after the invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images German victory parade in Warsaw after the invasion of Poland, 1939. (Hitler is on platform, arm raised in Nazi salute.) Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Adolf Hitler views victory parade in Warsaw after the German invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Right to left, front row: Adjutant Wilhelm Brueckner, Luftwaffe fighter ace Adolf Galland, Gen. Albert Kesselring and Gen. Johannes Blaskowitz view the victory parade in Warsaw after the German invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Head of the SS Heinrich Himmler (right), one of the chief architects of the Holocaust, speaks with an unidentified officer in Warsaw after German invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Warsaw citizens buried their dead in parks and streets after the invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Warsaw citizens buried their dead in parks and streets after the invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Street scene following the German invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images German nationals prepare for repatriation during the invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Polish farmers and peasants flee German military during invasion of their country, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Polish women clean captured Polish guns in Modlin Fortress, north of Warsaw, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Jewish women and children in Gostynin, Poland, after the German invasion, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Polish refugees, Warsaw, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Warsaw, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Near Modlin Fortress, Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Near Modlin Fortress, Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Scene in post-invasion Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Poles stand beneath monument to Polish patriot, Jan Kiliński, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Near Sochaczew during the German invasion of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Near Danzig after the German conquest of Poland, 1939. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Flea market in post-invasion Warsaw Ghetto, 1940. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Near Warsaw, fall 1939; sign points to the battle front. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Read next: Hungary’s Border Fence Isn’t Stopping Desperate Syrian Migrants
Listen to the most important stories of the day
More Must-Reads from TIME Where Trump 2.0 Will Differ From 1.0 How Elon Musk Became a Kingmaker The Power—And Limits—of Peer Support The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024 Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision