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Brazilian priest missing after balloon flight
A Catholic priest who floated off carried by hundreds of helium-filled party balloons is missing off southern Brazil.
- Agencies
- Published: 10:35 April 23, 2008
Sao Paulo: A Catholic priest who floated off carried by hundreds of helium-filled party balloons is missing off southern Brazil.
Rescuers found a cluster of brightly colored party balloons floating in the ocean off Brazil's coast on Tuesday but did not find the Roman Catholic priest.
Adelir Antonio de Carli lifted off from the port city of Paranagua on Sunday afternoon, wearing a helmet, thermal suit and parachute and carrying a GPS device.
About eight hours after losing contact with port officials, the priest was reported missing.
The 41-year-old priest, who is an experienced skydiver, was attempting to break the record of 19 hours for the longest flight with balloons to raise funds for a spiritual stop for truckers in Paranagua.
The priest was strapped to a seat attached to hundreds of coloured balloons and reached an altitude of 6000 metres before returning to about 2500 metres for his 750 kilometre flight.
Winds threw him off course, however, and he was about 50 kilometres off the coast when contact was lost.
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