Tuesday, 19 February 2013 17:48 Rosie Gogan-Keogh
The archaeologist behind the hunt for dozens of Spitfires rumored to be buried in Myanmar during World War II has said that he remains certain that he will find the planes.
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| Supermarine Spitfire during 13th International Air Picnic in Goraszka |
At a press conference at Yangon's Park Royal Hotel on February 19, David Cundall, a farmer and aircraft enthusiast who has spent 17 years looking for the aircraft, said that the team had found some evidence near Yangon's Mingaladon district.
Cundall told media that the team had finished the initial survey at Mingaladon and were awaiting a radar specialist to conduct a ground-penetrating radar of the ground.
"We have not dug for the spitfires yet. It will take us about two weeks using this ground-penetrating radar device to find out about the anomalies that we have already found," said Cundall.
The ongoing search for the planes has been widely reported around the world but has begun to receive skepticism following the withdrawal of the project's main sponsor, Wargaming, last week.
The online gaming company released a statement saying the team "now believes, based on clear documentary evidence, as well as the evidence from the fieldwork, that no Spitfires were delivered in crates and buried at RAF Mingaladon during 1945 and 1946."
Cundall rubbished Wargaming's claims of the non-existence of the planes and said that the company was merely impatient, as they did not get the publicity they wanted in return for their backing.
"We have ample funding without Wargaming," said Cundall, who is paying for a lot of the project out of his own pocket, along with a new American financier who came onboard within the past few days.
The team conducting the hunt is currently six weeks into a two-year contract to search for the planes and has no intention of giving up yet.
"Hopefully within the next two to three weeks, we may have some good news," said Cundall.
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