Brazil - Priest missing on balloon flight

[Begbie]

Priest missing on balloon flight




A Roman Catholic priest who used 1,000 helium balloons to try to break a flying record has gone missing off the southern coast of Brazil.
Father Adelir de Carli lifted off from the port city of Paranagua on Sunday, equipped with a parachute, thermal suit, satellite phone and a GPS device.
A sea and air rescue operation is under way after he lost contact with port authority officials late on Sunday.

He wanted to break a 19-hour record for the most hours flying with balloons.
Father Carli was hoping to raise money to fund a rest stop for lorry drivers in Paranagua, one of Brazil's major ports for agricultural products. As well as his GPS and satellite phone, he was equipped with a buoyant chair. He is also an experienced skydiver.

'Losing height'
In a phone interview with Brazilian TV channel Globo on Sunday, he said he was having difficulty operating his GPS device, and was "very cold, but fine".
He was said to have reached an altitude of 20,000ft (6,000m), then descended to about 8,200ft for his planned flight to the city of Dourados.

But he was blown off course by winds and when last contacted was floating several miles off the coast. Before losing contact, he said he had to land in the sea as he was "losing height". Planes and helicopters of the Brazilian air force as well as boats of the Brazilian navy are searching off the coast of Santa Catarina state, where pieces of balloons were found on a beach.

"We are absolutely confident he will be found alive and well, floating somewhere in the ocean," parish treasurer Denise Gallas told the Associated Press.
"He knew what he was doing and was fully prepared for any kind of mishap."
In January, the priest used the same mode of transport to fly over 110km (70 miles) in four hours between Parana and the nearby Argentine city of San Antonio.

[Looper]

Surprising that Father Danny Deckchair apparently did not take an EPIRB since getting blown offshore and ending up in the sea must have been an obvious risk. Hope he took a lifejacket.

Here he goes up, up and away...

Globo VÃI love you Jesusdeo – Player NotÃI love you Jesuscias - VIDEO - Recomeçam as buscas ao padre que sumiu no mar de Santa Catarina

[Texpat]

Modern-day Iccarus?

[dirtydog]

YouTube - Brazil Priest Carried Aloft by Hundreds of Balloons Disappea

Brazil Priest Carried Aloft by Hundreds of Balloons Disappears.

SAO PAULO, Brazil — A Roman Catholic priest who floated off under hundreds of helium party balloons was missing today off the southern coast of Brazil.

Rescuers in helicopters and small fishing boats were searching off the coast of Santa Catarina state, where pieces of balloons were found.

Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli lifted off from the port city of Paranagua on Sunday afternoon, wearing a helmet, thermal suit and a parachute.

He was reported missing about eight hours later after losing contact with port authority officials, according to the treasurer of his Sao Cristovao parish, Denise Gallas.

Gallas said by telephone that the priest wanted to break a 19-hour record for the most hours flying with balloons to raise money for a spiritual rest-stop for truckers in Paranagua, Brazil's second-largest port for agricultural products.

[dirtydog]

YouTube - Brazilian priest missing

[PlanK]

Unusual way to get into heaven. Does St Peter take unexpected cold callers knocking on his gates?

[dirtydog]

Priest Carried Away By Balloons and Is Missing

YouTube - Priest Carried Away By Balloons and Is Missing

[John]

Poor guy. Should have used condoms instead of balloons. They are more stable.

At least he stood to his ideas. God bless this brave soul. But you never know - perhaps he will land in the Vatican pretty soon.

[dirtydog]

'Flying' priest's balloons found

Rescuers found balloons used by Fr Carli, but there was no sign of him



Search crews in Brazil have found a bundle of balloons off the coast that were being used by a priest who went missing trying to set a flight record.
Father Adelir de Carli lifted off from the port city of Paranagua on Sunday strapped to 1,000 helium balloons.

Although equipped with flotation equipment, a satellite phone and GPS, contact was lost with him late on Sunday after he was blown off course.
He wanted to break a 19-hour record for the most hours flying with balloons.
He was trying to raise funds to provide a rest stop for lorry drivers in Paranagua, a major port for agricultural products.

Rescue hopes

Father Carli's bundle of brightly-coloured balloons was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean off Santa Catarina state, near the point where he last made contact with authorities on the ground.
Rescue officials were holding out hopes he would still be found alive.

[Texpat]

Darwinism does not discriminate among the holy.

[Agent_Smith]

Should have used condoms instead of balloons

I'm hoping you were being ironic

[dirtydog]

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Fears for the safety of the ballooning priest



Winds of 65kmph carried Father de Carli out over the Atlantic


He disappeared into thick cloud seconds after taking off


Fears are growing in Brazil over the fate of a Roman Catholic priest who has gone missing while trying to break a world flying record using 1,000 helium balloons tied to a chair.

The Reverend Adelir Antonio de Carli lifted off on Sunday from a seaside launch site, carrying a phone and a Global Positioning Satellite tracking device.

Before he disappeared, his final message was to say that the phone battery was running low and that he could not work the GPS device.

Listen Listen to Father de Carli (14 secs)
Aquilino Gimenes is an experienced Brazillian balloonist who postponed his own flight on Sunday because of the bad weather.

Listen Listen to Aquilino Gimenes (2 mins 1 sec)
First broadcast 23 April 2008

[Carnwadrick]

Maybe he reached the heavenly gates and stopped off for a chat and forgot where he parked