A man died after a cow fell on him as it attempted to cross the roof of while he and his wife slept, according to officials.
The victim of this strange accident was identified as 45-year-old Joao Maria de Souza. Maria de Souza was rushed to a nearby hospital and complained of pain in his abdomen, according to reports.
The unfortunate incident happened in Caratinga, a municipality within the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in an area located below street level in a mountainous area of cattle breeding, according to the Examiner. Animals graze on a hill, and are able to make their way onto roofs of houses built on a slope and whose ceiling is below street level.
The roof was contaminated with asbestos, helping the weight of the cow to drop through the ceiling and on top of the victim. The cow was reportedly uninjured, and narrowly missed Maria de Souza's wife.
He died in a local hospital one day later due to internal bleeding in his stomach area. According to multiple reports, Brazilian officials are attempting to identify and locate the owner of the cow.
According to the Examiner, authorities have opened an investigation to "establish the circumstances of the death because the family of Souza claimed that the patient spent several hours on a stretcher without receiving attention."
A statement released by the municipal health secretariat says Maria de Souza was cared for properly and had X-rays done after he complained of abdominal pains.
"Despite economic gains in the last decade, a large number of Brazilians remain in dire living conditions, in makeshift houses or in irregular locations," the Los Angeles Times reports. "Housing was a focus of some of the protests that swept the country in June."
President Dilma Rousseff has heard the public's outrage and met with a representatives of social movement advocating for improvements, the Movimento de Trabalhadores Sem Teto,which translates as the Roofless Workers Movement.
