Treasure hunters dig Panayia Greek Orthodox Church premises in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

A group of unidentified treasure hunters dug a land belonging to the Panayia Greek Orthodox Church located in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district, Sabah newspaper reported on Aug. 14.

The treasure hunters dug a well nine meters deep of the land owned by the church’s foundation recently on a midnight, the newspaper said.

Locals passing by the area saw the treasure hunters were digging the area. They later informed the police.

But by the time the police arrived, the treasure hunters had already fled the scene.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the incident, which led the authorities to discover the suspects were at the site in quest to find “treasure.”

The authorities have taken the testimonies of the church officials and a guard, the report said.

The watchman told the authorities he was guarding the premises very far from the scene of the incident. He said there was no well in the areas that he was guarding. He also said the well had been dug up in one night.

Authorities are watching footage from nearby security cameras to identify the names of the suspects.