Rescuers found balloons used by Father Carli in April

DNA tests on a body found off Brazil's coast this month match that of a priest who went missing trying to set a flight record, the authorities say.

Father Adelir Antonio de Carli lifted off from the Brazilian port city of Paranagua in April strapped to 1,000 brightly-coloured helium balloons.

The 41-year-old Roman Catholic priest wanted to raise money to build a shelter for local lorry drivers.

His attempt went wrong when unexpected winds carried him out to sea.

The body was discovered by chance earlier this month by tugboat workers.

Father Carli was attempting to break a 19-hour record for the most hours flying with balloons.

Father Carli's bundle of brightly coloured balloons was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean off Santa Catarina state, near the point where he last made contact with authorities on the ground.

Father Carli had said he was having difficulty operating his GPS device, and was "very cold, but fine".

He was said to have reached an altitude of 20,000ft (6,000m), then descended to about 8,200ft for his planned flight to the city of Dourados.

But he was blown off course by winds. Before losing contact, he said he had to land in the sea as he was "losing height".

In January, the priest used the same mode of transport to fly over 110km (70 miles) in four hours between Parana and the nearby Argentine city of San Antonio.



