A priest who floated off the southern coast of Brazil under hundreds of helium balloons is still missing today.
He was attempting 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.
Reverend Adelir Antonio de Carli
Overnight rescuers in helicopters and small fishing boats searched off the coast of Santa Catarina state, where pieces of balloons were found.
Reverend Adelir Antonio de Carli lifted off from the port city of Paranagua yesterday afternoon wearing a helmet, thermal suit and a parachute.
He was reported missing about eight hours later after losing contact with port authority officials
Some American adventurers have used helium balloons to emulate Larry Walters - who in 1982 rose three miles above Los Angeles in a lawn chair lifted by balloons.
A video of Fr Carli posted on the website of Globo TV showed the smiling 41-year-old priest slipping into a flight suit, being strapped to a seat attached to a huge column green, red, white and yellow balloons, and soaring into the air to the cheers of a crowd.
According to a church spokeswoman, the priest soared to an altitude of 6,000 metres then descended to about 2,500 metres for his planned flight to the city of Dourados, 750km north-west of his parish.
But winds pushed him in another direction, and he was some 50km off the coast when he last contacted Paranagua's port authority.
He had a GPS device, a satellite phone, a buoyant chair and was an experienced skydiver. "We are absolutely confident he will be found alive and well, floating somewhere in the ocean," a spokeswoman said. "He knew what he was doing and was fully prepared for any kind of mishap."