By Tim Binnall
A Brazilian man dug a staggering 130-foot-deep hole beneath his kitchen floor in search of buried treasure, but his epic quest ended in tragedy when he plummeted into the chasm and perished. According to a local media report, the unfortunate incident that occurred last week began sometime over a year ago when João Pimenta had what he described as a "prophetic dream" wherein a spirit revealed that a vast amount of gold could be found buried under his kitchen floor. The man was so convinced by the experience that he set about trying to retrieve the elusive riches with a treasure hunt that grew to epic proportions and ultimately cost him everything.
Over the next year, neighbors recounted to the media, Pimenta poured his life savings into the pursuit, including selling his other properties to buy equipment and fund the dig. Initially, workers earned around $70 per day to help him with the excavation, but that rate rose to a whopping $500 as the hole got deeper. To that end, the pit ultimately reached an astounding 130 feet deep until he reached a large rock that stopped him in his tracks and left him considering the use of dynamite to continue the project. Neighbors understandably expressed concern over his plan to use explosives in the excavation, but before their fears might come to fruition, tragedy struck in a different form when Pimenta slipped and plunged down the well to his death.