Renee’s Page

 

UPDATE Apr. 25, 4:30p ET: Things aren’t looking good for our Brazilian balloon priest.

Five days after he went missing after strong winds blew him out to sea while attempting to set a record for flight using helium balloons, the Guardian reports that rescue workers have begun scaling down the search for Reverend Adelir Antonio de Carli. The Brazilian air force announced today it has suspended its search efforts, while the navy continued to patrol waters off the coast of Santa Catarina, though they too are considering halting operations.

“The chances [of survival] are increasingly slim and we are considering when to end the search effort,” Lieutenant Francisco Jose Cavalcante, of the navy’s southern search unit in Rio Grande do Sul state, told Reuters.

“It’s difficult to talk about survival. There have been cases of shipwrecked people having lived for four or five days at sea.”

Firefighters continue to search beaches and islands off the coast where they think the priest may have washed up.

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