A man has died after falling down a 130ft hole he dug under his kitchen floor after dreaming there was gold buried beneath it.
Joao Pimenta da Silva, 71, plunged down the shaft he had excavated after he lost his balance while venturing down to search for goods. Neighbours said the pensioner had become obsessed with the idea there was gold buried in the area under the property in the municipality of Ipatinga in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais he was trying to reach.
Arnaldo da Silva told local media: "Joao had spent more than a year digging the hole and hired many people to do the excavating work. He began by paying 70 Brazilian Reais £11.30) a day when the hole was still shallow but the deeper he went the more the costs went up. He ended up paying around 495 Brazilian Reais (£80) to anyone who entered the hole and helped to remove earth. He had hit a large stone that appeared which was difficult to remove and there were rumours he had been talking about trying to get hold of dynamite."
The neighbour said Joao claimed to have been told by a 'spirit' in a dream there was gold under the rock below his kitchen floor and he tried to warn him of the dangers of his mission but was ignored. The tragedy that led to the gold digger’s death occurred on January 5. Firefighters confirmed they received a call around 1.30pm that day to a house in a neighbourhood called Betania after the owner suffered a fall of approximately 130ft but were unable to do anything to save his life. Extraordinary photos of the hole, which was around 35 inches in diameter and went down the equivalent of around 12 floors, have been published in the Brazilian press.
Local reports said the victim is believed to have slipped and plunged to his death from a wooden platform near the top of the hole as he tried to exit it following work to remove water and mud. A friend he was working with was unable to save him. His body was removed by the emergency services. He was found to have suffered head injuries and broken legs as well as other fractures.