Polish officials say they have likely located the rumoured missing Nazi gold train, buried in south-western Poland since World War Two.

Two men, a Pole and a German, recently sparked speculation of the existence of a long lost train filled with Nazi gold and treasure being buried underground when they claimed to have discovered the train which has been a part of local legend since the end of the war. The train was long said to have disappeared as the Nazis fled the advancing Russian army in the spring of 1945, but disappeared. Polish security services of the Communist era looked for the train but never found it.

The men told authorities they had found the armoured train, and its bounty, in an abandoned tunnel – a offered to show authorities to the loot if they would be assured of a reward of 10% of the treasure.

Now local officials have told the Associated Press that they have likely located the train using ground-penetrating radar.

Poland’s Deputy Culture Minister Piotr Zuchowski today told reporters he has seen an image from the radar that shows the blurred shape of a train, with cannons, and he is “more than 99 per cent certain that this train exists.”

The alleged find sparked a flurry of interest among would-be scavengers, to the point that the Polish government had to issue a public warning about potential booby traps protecting the treasure, or potentially hazardous substances from the war still on the train.

Military explosives experts will help in a search operation that Zuchowski expects to last “weeks”.