Sad news for the ballooning fraternity

Back in October, Richard Abruzzo and Carol Rymer Davis disappeared over the Adriatic Sea while competing in the 54th Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race.




They had left England four days before, along with the other contestants, all trying to cover the maximum possible distance (the object of the race).




A search for them was unsuccessful at the time. Sadly, today it was announced that the gondola from their balloon had been found by an Italian fishing vessel. The remains of the balloonists were still inside.




There will always be those who 'push the envelope', risking their lives in sport or exploration or pioneering endeavor . . . and some of them have always paid, and will continue to pay, the price for taking such risks. We should not be angry that they risk their lives, even though we're sad for their loss. Without their courage and example, the human race would still be a bunch of wimps hiding in a cave for fear of the big wide world outside.

May the souls of this brave couple rest in peace, and may their loved ones take what comfort they can from the fact that they died doing something they loved.

Peter