No sign of lost Japanese balloonist: supporter

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

TOKYO (AFP) — Supporters said Monday they were praying for the safety of a Japanese balloonist who lost contact three days ago over the Pacific Ocean on a bid to break his own record for the longest journey.

Local government employee Michio Kanda, 58, lost contact Friday, one day after setting off on his 9,000-kilometre (5,580 mile) journey to North America that was expected to take him about 60 hours.

"We still don't have a clue on his whereabouts," said Toshitsugu Ichihara, one of Kanda's supporters.

Ichihara and other supporters of the adventurer have stayed at Kanda's home in suburban Tokyo, gathering fragments of information on Kanda and praying for his safety, he said.

The US Coast Guard has been dispatched from Alaska to search for him in the...