Photos show the resurfaced remains of World War II's 'Death Railway' in Thailand

KANCHANABURI, Thailand (AP) — After decades beneath the surface, a submerged station from World War II's infamous “Death Railway” has resurfaced in Thailand.

Maintenance at Vajiralongkorn Dam drained the hydropower facility's reservoir, revealing Nithe Station for the first time in more than 40 years.

Researchers are racing to survey the site, which was a major depot on the historic 415-kilometer (257-mile) route that connected then Siam and Burma, modern day Thailand and Myanmar.

But it is a race against time, as the completion of the dam’s maintenance in August and Southeast Asia’s rainy season may soon reflood the area.

During World War II, around 60,000 Allied prisoners of war, as well as hundreds of thousands of Asian laborers, were forced to build the railway by the Empire of Japan.

More than 12,500 of the POWs and 75,000 laborers died during construction, inspiring “The Death Railway" nickname.

“We deal with a lot of relatives of POWs. Some of those POWs worked in the area we’re talking about, up at Nithe, and it’s a good opportunity for us to do some surveying... so that we can show relatives in the future,” said Andrew Snow, a researcher at the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, whose father was captured in Singapore in 1942 and forced to work on the railway.

Martyn Fryer, an independent researcher who has visited Nithe three times, flew from Australia to see the fully resurfaced site. His grandfather died as a POW building the railway, and he said he wanted to see for himself “what infrastructure is lying under the water.”

Sections of the historic railway are still active, transporting locals and drawing thousands of tourists.

Educational sites, like The Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre, are also designed to keep the history of the railway alive.

Traveling presents the chance to learn about the people and the culture of the place you’re going, said Michael Weber, a German tourist, at Thamkra Sae Station. “And part of the culture is always the history.”

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

A man fishes in front of the River Kwai Bridge, one of the most iconic sections of the infamous World War II "Death Railway," as the bridge is lit up in the colors of the Thai flag in Kanchanaburi City, Thailand, Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

A visitor poses for a photo at the River Kwai Bridge, an iconic part of the infamous World War II "Death Railway," in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

Visitors walk along the River Kwai Bridge, one of the well-known sections of the infamous World War II "Death Railway," in Kanchanaburi, Thailand on Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

Researchers Andrew Snow, left, and Martyn Fryer visit the Buddhist temple of Wat Tha Khanun, which preserves a section of the infamous World War II "Death Railway," in Thong Pha Phum, Thailand, on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

Martyn Fryer, an independent researcher, holds a historical artefact from the infamous World War II "Death Railway," discovered in Nithe Station in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

Researchers walk into the empty reservoir where Nithe Station, a depot on World War II's infamous "Death Railway" resurfaced after the reservoir was drained in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

Local residents take pictures of artefacts from Nithe Station, part of the infamous World War II "Death Railway," in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand on Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

The Vajiralongkorn Dam is seen in Thong Pha Phum, Thailand on Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

Martyn Fryer, an independent researcher, asks a local landowner for permission to survey a part of the infamous World War II "Death Railway," in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand on Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

A train approaches Thamkra Sae Station, one of the still active sections of the infamous World War II "Death Railway," in Sai Yok, Thailand, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

Andrew Snow, a researcher with the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, uses historic aerial photographs from The National Archives in London to map out the layout of Nithe Station, a part of the infamous World War II "Death Railway," in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

A visitor walks through the Don-Rak War Cemetary for the prisoners of war who died building the infamous World War II "Death Railway," in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

Mick Clarke, the manager of the Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre, speaks to visitors at the infamous section of the World War II "Death Railway," in Sai Yok, Thailand, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

Researchers walk into the empty reservoir where Nithe Station, a depot on World War II's infamous "Death Railway" resurfaced after the reservoir was drained in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand on Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

A family of Russian tourists pose for photos as a train approaches Thamkra Sae Station, one of the still active sections of the infamous World War II "Death Railway," in Sai Yok, Thailand, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

A train crosses the River Kwai Bridge, one of the most inconic sections of the infamous World War II "Death Railway," in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

NEW YORK (AP) — Making the Commissioner's Cup championship game has been a prelude to bigger things for the New York Liberty the past two times they've done it.

New York has reached the WNBA Finals in each of those seasons, winning once and losing once. The Liberty players didn't want to think that far ahead after clinching their spot Sunday in the mid-season tournament title game. Still it's hard to ignore the success considering New York has won seven straight games and finally had their entire roster healthy for the victory over Washington.

The Commissioner's Cup first started being played in 2021 and one or both teams have gone to play for the WNBA championship three times — in 2022-24. New York beat Las Vegas in 2023 before losing to Minnesota the next season in the Commissioner's Cup finale. The Liberty avenged that loss by beating the Lynx for their first WNBA championship later that season.

“It’s a pretty high number of teams that go to the Commissioner’s Cup championship that play in the (WNBA) finals,” Liberty center Jonquel Jones said.

New York is still waiting to see who and where it will play. Las Vegas was routed by Dallas on Monday night and is tied with Minnesota atop the Western Conference. The Aces have the tiebreaker with the Lynx after beating them the other day. Las Vegas plays Phoenix on Wednesday and Minnesota vists Los Angeles.

The first tiebreaker for determining who would host the championship game is regular-season winning percentage through Wednesday night. The second one is point-differential in Commissioner Cup games.

ESPN will show a four-part series on the Toronto Tempo and how the first WNBA team outside of the United States was built from the ground up.

“With the incredible growth of the WNBA and women’s basketball, this is the perfect time to showcase the launch of Canada’s first WNBA franchise,” said Lindsay Rovegno, Vice President & Executive Producer, ESPN Originals. “Setting the Tempo presents a rare opportunity for fans to see what it truly takes to build a successful organization, shining a spotlight on the female executives whose decisions and vision are laying the foundation for the future.”

Las Vegas takes over the top spot after edging Minnesota 100-97 on Saturday night. The Aces were followed by the Lynx, New York, Atlanta and Dallas. Golden State, Indiana and Los Angeles were next. Expansion teams Portland and Toronto were ninth and 10th. Washington, Chicago and Phoenix followed the Tempo. Seattle and Connecticut rounded out the poll.

A'ja Wilson of Las Vegas was the AP player of the week. She averaged 30 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks to help the Aces win all three of their games last week. Other players receiving votes included Kelsey Plum of Los Angeles, Breanna Stewart of New York and Caitlin Clark of Indiana.

The Los Angeles Sparks and New York Liberty will play each other on Sunday for the official 30th anniversary rematch of the WNBA's first-ever game in 1997. Penny Toler scored the first points in league history, making a baseline jumper 59 seconds into the game.

Atlanta vs Indiana, Thursday and Saturday. The Dream and Fever play a home-and-home matchup this week with third-year stars Angel Reese and Clark facing off for the second and third time in a two week stretch. Indiana won the first matchup on June 4.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Toronto Tempo guard Kiki Rice (1) drives to the basket against New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello hugs New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones after a WNBA basketball game, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)