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After first lifting a curse and using sonar to sweep for explosive booby traps, villagers from East Nusa Tenggara Province have started excavating a cave they believe contains Japanese treasure buried during World War II.

Rambu Kristina, from Mbataka Ridu village in East Sumba district, was the first person to report that Japanese forces stationed on Sumba Island during the occupation may have buried treasure before their departure.

With the Japanese invading army’s defeat imminent, she said, based on testimony from her late father, soldiers ordered 50 locals to bury gold and personal belongings in a cave near the village.

Her father, Umbu Nai Kadumbu, had been among them, Rambu told the state-run news agency Antara.

To keep the secret safe, the soldiers then proceeded to massacre all the villagers except for two people, including Umbu, who had promised that he would not reveal the location, she said.

As a further means of safeguarding the treasure, the Japanese troops planted booby traps and cursed the cave, she said.

Rambu, as quoted by Antara, said that her father summoned the strength to violate the curse in 1982 when he took some of the gold, but it was a fatal mistake.

Umbu quickly fell ill and died — though not before passing on his secret to Rambu, she said.

In spite of the curse, she divulged her secret when she met the former district head of East Sumba, Lukas Kaborang.

Lukas supported her efforts to locate the treasure, pledging to supply police from the local bomb squad unit to sweep for booby traps.

It is understood that if any treasure is found it is the property of the state, though Rambu would receive a portion of the gold for her efforts.

On Monday, the bomb squad began searching for explosives and on Thursday declared the area safe for heavy machinery to begin digging.

“We tested for five meters using sonar and we found no explosives,” East Sumba Police chief Tetra Putra told the Jakarta Globe. “But we have to be careful not to dig deeper than three meters before we scan the area deeper. The vibration alone could set off bombs that might still be around.”

Locals were looking to more than just government support to deal with the curse however.

Fearing that it might indeed be true, locals conducted a traditional ritual to break the curse and appease spirits guarding the cave on Wednesday.

In spite of all the efforts, however, no buried treasure was found on Thursday.