Missing Priest's Balloons Found in Ocean

By STAN LEHMAN,

Posted: 2008-04-23 12:43:00

Filed Under: World News

SAO PAULO, Brazil (April 22) - Rescuers reached a cluster of brightly colored helium party balloons floating in the ocean off Brazil's coast Tuesday but did not find the Roman Catholic priest who had been using them in a bid to set a flight record.

Rev. Adelir Antonio di Carli remained missing after lifting off from the port city of Paranagua on Sunday strapped to hundreds of helium-filled ballons in a bid to break a record for the longest time in-flight using party balloons. He was wearing a helmet, aluminum thermal flight suit, water proof coveralls and parachute.

He planned to use the money raised in his attempt to break the 19-hour record to fund a "spiritual" rest-stop for truckers in Paranagua, home to Brazil's largest grain port.

Di Carli was reported missing about eight hours after taking off when he lost contact with port authority officials.

The cluster of yellow, orange, pink and white balloons was seen Tuesday night, floating intact in the sea off Brazil's southern Santa Catarina state near di Carli's last contact point, according to a photograph posted on Sao Paulo's UOL news Web site.

Authorities reached the cluster of balloons late Tuesday but the priest was not there, Globo TV said.

"Given his physical condition and the equipment he was carrying, I would say there is an 80 percent chance that he is still alive," said Johnny Coelho, commander of the Penha Fire Department, which is searching for the priest.

Di Carli, who has taken jungle survival and mountain climbing courses, was carrying enough drinking water and cereal bars to stay alive for at least five days, Coelho said, suggesting the priest may be adrift in the ocean or resting on a beach or forest-covered mountain along the coast.

The priest, an experienced skydiver, also had a GPS device, satellite phone and buoyant chair with him, Coelho said.

"He last used the phone and GPS on Sunday at 8:45 p.m. to let the Navy know his location," Coelho said. "We haven't heard from him since."

The priest embarked on a similar adventure on Jan. 13, when he used 600 balloons to carry him on a four-hour, 17,390 foot-high voyage from the town of Ampere to neighboring Argentina, where he landed safely.

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Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli lifted off under hundreds of balloons Sunday in Brazil and was reported missing after losing contact with officials on the ground. The priest, whose parish treasurer says he reached an altitude of 20,000 feet, was trying to break a record for the most hours flying with balloons as a fundraiser.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2008-04-22 06:55:33

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vespasianne 12:41:53 PM Apr 29 2008

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If it was his time to go, at least he's left while trying to do work in the name of the Lord. This story is so confusing to me; why hasn't his floating chair been located? Did he ever report (on his last trip or this one) when/how/why balloons were lost?
God bless this adventurous man.