A gang of British treasure hunters have discovered a chest containing up to £100 million ($130m) in Nazi gold in the wreck of a German cargo ship.
The Advanced Marine Services found a box containing up to four tons (3,628kg) of the valuable metal off the coast of Iceland.
The find is believed to be gold from South American banks. It was discovered in the post room of the SS Minden, which sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in 1939.
Credit: Advanced Marine Services
Credit: Advanced Marine Services
Credit: Advanced Marine Services
The boat sank 120 miles southeast of Iceland on 24 September 1939, shortly after World War II began, after it was intercepted by cruisers HMS Calypso and HMS Dunedin.
Adolf Hitler ordered to captain to scuttle the ship so its precious cargo could not be seized by the Royal Navy.
The treasure hunting firm now wants to bring the gold back to Britain, claiming finders-keepers on the haul.
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However, Icelandic officials have yet to make a statement on the ownership of the wreck that lies 120 miles to the south east of the country.
According to new website Iceland Monitor, when the coastguard asked the crew why they were in the area ahead of the find, they gave 'vague and different explanations'. This led the coastguard to instruct them to dock at Reykjavik, where police questioned the crew.
Georg Lárusson, director of the Icelandic Coastguard, told the Iceland Monitor that the treasure hunters did not have a permit to search in the waters.
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He added: "The first answers we got were that they were looking at an 'interesting target' from WWII, but couldn't explain it any further."
So it looks like there could still be some controversy over who the gold belongs to.
If you can't get enough of treasure troving, earlier this year we heard how there's still £4.5 million ($5.8m) worth of British gold under sea from the two world wars. Could someone remind me again why I'm sat here at a desk rather than out looking for plunder?
Featured Image Credit: PA Images