Brazilian priest died after tying himself to 1,000 balloons and being found in ocean months later
There are many ways to raise money for good causes, but one priest from Brazil found a particularly novel one.
When Father Adelir Antonio de Carli wanted to raise money for a chapel for truckers in his highway hometown, he decided against the more conventional options like sponsored marathons or swims.
Instead, in an extraordinary feat, Father de Carli opted to tie himself to 1,000 helium balloons and float out over the ocean.
His aim was to break the previous record for floating with helium balloons for the longest time, which was 19 hours.
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While the story ended in tragedy, it would be wrong to suggest that he went into it not know what he was doing.
Father de Carli was an experienced skydiver, and had also undertaken training in survival and wilderness skills - so not exactly a newcomer to dangerous feats in the sky.
He also didn't just set off in his t-shirt and jeans. When he set off on 20 April 2008, the Roman Catholic Priest was wearing a helmet, waterproof coveralls, and an aluminum thermal flight suit. He also had a parachute, and a GPS tracker and radio to communicate with air traffic control about his position.
It was his second attempt at the feat as well, as earlier the same year he had undertaken a four-hour-long trip reaching an altitude of 17,390 feet.
The first trip saw him take off from the town of Ampere before landing safely in Argentina.
But despite the radio and GPS tracker, on his second attempt, the 41-year-old disappeared around eight hours after taking off.
Search and rescue parties including planes, helicopters, and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to search for the missing priest.
Two days after he had taken off, several multicolored balloons were spotted in the sea off Brazil's southeast coast.
Some months later, a body was found in the search, and following DNA testing, it was confirmed to be the missing priest.
Macae’s chief of police, Daniel Bandeira, said at the time: “We were almost certain that it was the priest due to various elements, such as the clothes and material used in the balloon trip.
“The DNA only confirmed our suspicions.”
His brother Moacir de Carli said: "Now we can have a respectable burial service."
While it's not clear exactly what went wrong, reports have suggested that de Carli had been struggling to work his GPS device, and that he had felt 'very cold but fine'.
He reportedly reached an altitude of 20,000ft, and had been on course to begin descending to around 8,200ft for the planned flight to Dourados.
It's possible that he was blown off course by winds. Before he lost contact, de Carli reportedly said he was 'losing height'.
His body was discovered by tugboat workers by chance.
Topics: News, World News
Kit Roberts