New Delhi, June 16 -- A depot on World War II's infamous "Death Railway" has resurfaced from beneath a reservoir where the site has remained underwater for decades, prompting researchers to race to western Thailand to survey the remnants of Nithe Station.

Thousands of Allied prisoners of war and Asian laborers toiled and died building the railway, a supply route through mainland Southeast Asia for the occupying Japanese forces.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand recently drained the reservoir at Vajiralongkorn Dam for maintenance, revealing the station. Historians are seizing the uncommon opportunity to further study the site in Kanchanaburi province for artifacts and to verify details.

But time is limited, as the complet...