Thais have been gripped by a senator's claim to have found hidden treasure left by the retreating Japanese Imperial Army after World War II, amid hopes it will provide a quick fix to the country's economic woes.
A poll published today showed 64.2 per cent of Bangkok's residents believe Senator Mr Chaowarin Latthsaksiri's assertion that Japanese troops hid 2,500 tonnes of gold in a cave near the Myanmar border.
If the treasure does exist, it could be worth tens, or even hundreds, of billions of dollars.
The survey found 74.7 per cent thought the treasure should be used to revive the economy, which is still suffering from the effects of the Asian economic crisis.
The poll of 1,237 Bangkok residents by Assumption University also found 58.1 per cent said it should be kept as national reserves and 52.4 per cent wanted to use it to pay off the country's multi-billion dollar foreign debt to the International Monetary Fund.
Mr Chaowarin announced last week that after years of searching he had finally located the gold and other precious items in Li Jia cave in western Kanchanaburi province.
He said the gold was loaded into railway cars surrounded by skeletons of Japanese soldiers who had committed suicide.
According to Thai media today, the last day of the traditional Songkhran New Year holiday, the stash is also said to include US government bonds worth billions of dollars.
Photographs allegedly showing the bonds were splashed across newspaper pages, along with stories saying the forestry department had decided to further excavate the cave.
A team of officials began using heavy earth-moving equipment today to remove rubble and boulders from the mouth of the cave, according to reports on local radio.
The senator's claim to have found the Japanese hoard received a boost late last week when Prime Minister Mr Thaksin Shinawatra flew to the site to inspect the cave and ordered that security be tightened.
After the visit he admitted he hadn't actually seen the gold and said that if it turned out to be a false alarm the site could at least be turned into a tourist attraction.
He has since warned people not to get their hopes up.
Mr Chaowarin, a former education minister, launched his search for the gold several years ago when he says he found an old treasure map and became inspired by monks' visions of gold piled high in the cave's recesses.
AFP