Japanese tourists in Spain found in dangerous tunnel searching for Pokémon

Two Japanese tourists who illegally entered Barcelona’s busy Rovira Tunnel in search of Pokémon, were discovered on Monday morning by local police who found the pair wandering along the almost shoulderless 1.2 kilometer underground road packed with rush hour traffic. “We’re here because there are Pokémon inside the tunnel,” explained the tourists, tablet in hand.

Officers were circling the tunnel when they observed two figures, one female and one male. Concerned for their safety, the patrol initially assumed the pair had been involved in some kind of accident and were trying to find the exit. The policemen asked if they had been injured, or if their car had broken down. The tourists replied nonchalantly that they had been playing Pokemon Go, Nintendo’s recently launched game that consists of finding and collecting creatures scattered in all sorts of places around the world – including, apparently, the Rovira Tunnel, which had the dubious honor of being named one of the most dangerous tunnels in Europe in a 2006 report by EuroTAP (European Tunnel Assessment Programme).

Surprised by the appearance of the tourists, the officers informed them that they were not permitted to enter the tunnel in search of Pokémon and escorted them out. Authorities said the gamers have not been sanctioned, and failed to comment on whether the pair had found their Pokemon.

English version by Allison Light.