A gold miner dug a 40-meter hole under his house and fell through (4 photos)

Joao Pimenta da Silva, 71, was obsessed with the idea that there was gold beneath his house in Ipatinga, Brazil. The pensioner dug a 40-meter passage with a diameter of about 90 centimeters, but fell into it.





Arnaldo da Silva told local media: "Joao dug for over a year and even hired workers. At first he paid 70 Brazilian reais a day when the hole was shallow, but the deeper it got, the more expensive the work became. When they reached a large stone, It was impossible to get it out, there were rumors that he wanted to get dynamite."



The pensioner claimed that a “spirit” told him in a dream that there was a stone under his kitchen, and behind it there was gold, and he warned him of the dangers of searching.

The gold miner died on January 5. Joao fell into a 40-meter hole, rescuers came to the call, but were powerless.



The Brazilian fell from a wooden platform located at the top of the tunnel.

The platform was the seat of a children's swing, which he used to go down to the depths. That day the man was pumping water.

Antonio's friend Wilson Costa witnessed the fall and said the seat came off.



Rescuers pulled out the body. The deceased had head injuries and multiple limb fractures.

“After the dream, the elderly man began digging a hole with a diameter of about 90 centimeters and a depth of at least 40 meters,” the fire service said in a statement.

Minas Gerais fire brigade sergeant Luis Filipe de Miranda said the equipment was "archaic" and "homemade," but the vertical tunnel itself was "perfect."

"We found compressors, special jackhammers that were used to dig the tunnel. Going down is a whole science, and very difficult, but he had experience. However, the photographs show that there is no fixed support structure. He went down on a children's swing, without seat belt."