THREE brothers in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental searching for supposed treasure near their home died of suffocation Saturday afternoon after they were trapped below the 20-feet hole they have been digging since last year.

Police identified the fatalities as Nabas brothers Danilo, 42; Rolando, 40; and Reynante, 33, all residents of Sitio Bugtong, Barangay Tan-awan.

Superintendent German Garbosa, city police chief, said the brothers did not respond when their brother-in-law Joseph Masola, 22, checked on them around lunch time.

Masola decided to go down the hole, but halfway through, he smelled sulfur and had difficulty breathing. He then went up to the surface and asked for assistance.

Responders found the three brothers already unconscious. They were declared dead upon reaching the hospital.

Their uncle, Rodrigo Nabas Sr., said that Rolando saw in his dreams that a treasure was buried near their home, which prompted them to dig the hole and look for the gold.

Garbosa said that Reynante recently asked his father-in-law for a loan as they will use the money to buy a generator since they have already reached the “water portion” of the earth’s surface.

The police chief added that an autopsy will be performed on the victims to determine the cause of their deaths.

Masola is still confined in a hospital.