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Topics: Charity, World News, News
Callum Jones
A priest hoping to raise money for charity by breaking the record for the longest flight with helium balloons met a tragic end.
Father Adelir Antonio de Carli strapped himself to 1,000 helium balloons for an ambitious flight across the ocean, but his body was found months after the daredevil stunt.
And his last communication to his support team on the ground provided an indication that things were going wrong
Father Carli's aim with the challenge was to break the previous record for floating with helium balloons for the longest time, which stood at 19 hours.
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There wasn't much worry going into the challenge as Father Carli was an accomplished skydiver, and had also undertaken training in survival and wilderness skills.
All in all, he wasn't a stranger to scary and dangerous stunts.
Setting off on 20 April 2008, the priest wore a helmet, waterproof coveralls, and an aluminium thermal flight suit.
He was also equipped with a vital GPS tracker, a radio to communicate with air traffic control should he need any help, and a parachute.
Earlier on in the year, Father Carli had taken a wild trip reaching an altitude of 17,390 feet.
And that went extremely well as he took off from the town of Ampere before landing safely in Argentina.
The second attempt at the dangerous stunt ended in tragedy, as Father Carli disappeared eight hours after setting off.
During a phone interview with Brazilian TV channel Globo, Father Carli said he was 'very cold but fine', adding he was having some difficulties with his GPS.
He was said to have reached an altitude of a whopping 20,000 feet.
But things soon took a turn for the worse, with the last communication received from the priest being that he was 'losing height'.
When he first disappeared, officials were initially optimistic he would be found alive, with Penha Fire Department Chief Johnny Coelho saying he thought there was an '80% chance that he is still alive'.
Tragically, Coelho was proven wrong. It was some months later officials discovered Father Carli's body, with subsequent DNA testing confirming he was the missing priest.
At the time, Macae’s chief of police Daniel Bandeira said: "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.”
Even to this day, it remains unclear exactly what happened to Father Carli, with some suggesting strong winds may have took him off course.