In a demise worthy of the Darwin Awards, a man in the Volgograd region met his end after being buried alive by his friend.

Planning to recreate an ancient Slavonic ritual, the deceased took a hosepipe with him for the underground vigil and believed he would be perfectly safe and able to breathe freely until he was released half an hour later.

“On June 22 in a large forest in the Velikoyusnsky region one of the men decided to hold an occult ritual, involving internment. He persuaded the other that it would be safely conceived, as he was going to use a hose to breathe through, with one end protruding from the ground. He climbed into the excavated pit and asked his friend to bury him,” an official statement said.

Weight of earth

Unfortunately, Interfax reported, this historical re-enactment was destined to end in tragedy when the weight of the soil above him crushed the victim's neck, chest and abdomen, leading to asphyxiation.

Meanwhile his dozy colleague took the opportunity to grab a half-hour nap before getting back to his spadework too late to save his friend.

The survivor now faces an anxious wait to discover whether he will subject to prosecution for his role in the misadventure.

Underground power

While most people regard being buried alive as the stuff of nightmare, it is also associated with a Shamanistic ritual designed to heighten a person's sense of joy in being alive.

One man who underwent that experience as part of becoming a Shaman in the UK told The Guardian newspaper: “For all the misery and suffering that’s reported and circulated, I recommend a diet of anything that makes you feel grateful to be alive. We’re only here a few summers after all and we have a duty to honour this world as the marvel it is.”

Another famous survivor of burial was escapologist Harry Houdini, though his account of his escape from an early grave might have given our Volgograd victim pause for thought.

"The weight of the earth is killing," he wrote in his diary after digging himself out from six feet under.

Submitted on 07/12/2010

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: The Moscow News 12 July 2010

Copyright © 2010 DarwinAwards.com

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Simple and effective! Thanks for sending this in.

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
This guy needed to do a little more research...

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