Rescuers have found a cluster of brightly coloured balloons floating off the Brazilian coast in the search for a missing priest.
Father Adelir Antonio di Carli is still missing after lifting off from the port city of Paranagua on Sunday while attached to almost 1,000 helium balloons.
He was seeking to break a 19-hour record for the longest time in-flight with balloons and to raise money for a 'spiritual rest stop' for truckers in Paranagua.
However Fr De Carli was reported missing about eight hours later after losing contact with port authority officials.
The cluster of yellow, orange, pink and white balloons was seen last night, floating intact in the sea off Santa Catarina state near Fr di Carli's last contact point.
The priest was wearing a helmet, aluminium thermal flight suit, waterproof coveralls and parachute.
He was an experienced skydiver and had a GPS device, a satellite phone and buoyant chair with him.
'Given his physical condition and the equipment he was carrying, I would say there is an 80% chance that he is still alive,' said Johnny Coelho, commander the Penha Fire Department, which is taking part in the search for the priest.
Watch Father di Carli's departure
Fr Di Carli, who has taken jungle survival and mountain climbing courses, was carrying enough drinking water and cereal bars to stay alive for at least five days.
He last contacted port authority officials late on Sunday evening and appealed for instructions on using his GPS system. He has not been heard from since.
The priest embarked on a similar adventure in January this year when he used only 600 balloons to carry him on a four-hour, 5,300m-high voyage from the town of Ampere to neighbouring Argentina.
Parishioners at his Sao Cristovao parish are maintaining a vigil for Fr di Carli.
