Man strapped to 100 helium balloons flies over South Africa


A British adventurer named Tom Morgan flew 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) across South Africa, reaching heights of up to 2, 438 meters (8,000 feet), while strapped to a camping chair tied to 100 helium balloons.

The 38-year-old adventurer said had to spend two days inflating 100 balloons ahead of the flight after several failed attempts.

After Morgan strapped himself into a chair tied to 100 helium balloons he started to float thousands of feet above the ground.

Morgan, the runner of an adventure company based in Bristol in the U.K., moved to South Africa on Friday after several failed attempts in Botswana.

"The problem was finding a good weather window and it was difficult to protect the balloons as they kept bursting," Morgan told BBC News.

As the balloons drifted towards the inversion layer of the atmosphere - where the temperature rises - he said the flight started to accelerate very quickly.

"I had to keep my cool and start gradually cutting the balloons," he said.

Describing the experience as "unbelievably cool", Morgan also shared his plans to set up the first-ever competitive helium balloon race in Africa.