Priest Vanishes on Party Balloon Flight

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

He was reported missing about eight hours later after losing contact with port authority officials. Authorities later saw pieces of balloons floating in the sea off the coast of Santa Catarina state close to where Carli last made contact.

"We have no reason at this point to believe he is not still alive. He may be floating in the ocean, on some isolated beach or on land somewhere," said Paulo Eduardo Neves, a commander of one of the fire departments searching for Carli.

The priest was trying to break a 19-hour record for the most hours flying with balloons to fund a spiritual rest stop for truckers in Paranagua, home to Brazil's largest grain port. Brazilian truckers often spend days waiting to unload in the port, especially during the busy soy export season now under way.

Parishioners were maintaining a vigil for Carli, confident that he would be found.

"Without a doubt they will find him alive," Gallas said. "He's alive somewhere out there."

A video of Carli posted on Globo TV's G1 Web site showed the smiling 41-year-old priest slipping into a flight suit and being strapped to a seat attached to a huge cluster of green, red, white and yellow balloons. He then soared into the air to cheers from a crowd.

According to Gallas, the priest at one point soared to an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,000 meters). He planned to fly to the city of Dourados, 465 miles (750 kilometers) northwest of his parish, but was blown in another direction. He was located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) off the coast when he last contacted Paranagua's port authority.

Carli reportedly had a GPS device, a satellite phone, a buoyant chair and is an experienced skydiver.

Seas were calm Tuesday in the area where Carli disappeared, and the ocean's temperature was a mild 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), rescue leader Neves said.