He wore a helmet, an aluminum thermal flight suit, and waterproof coveralls while connected to a parachute and surrounded by 1,000 balloons.
De Carli, an experienced skydiver who had received survival and wilderness training, so he was no rookie, by any means.
In fact, this was his second attempt at the stunt; earlier that year, in January, he had used 600 balloons for a journey that lasted four hours and reached an altitude of 17,390 feet.
For his latest adventure, de Carli carried a GPS tracker and radio to keep air traffic control informed of his whereabouts.
Planes, helicopters, and rescue teams searched extensively for Father de Carli, but they couldn’t locate him.
Two days after his departure, several multicolored balloons were spotted in the sea off Brazil’s southern Santa Catarina state, close to where de Carli was last in contact, as reported.
Police stated that his body was discovered off the coast of southeastern Brazil.
“The DNA only confirmed our suspicions.”
Reports indicate that de Carli encountered difficulties operating his GPS device and mentioned feeling “very cold, but fine.”
However, he was reportedly pushed off course by strong winds, and just before losing contact, de Carli allegedly communicated that he was “losing altitude.”
His body was discovered by tugboat workers.
