US adventurer attempts to float across Atlantic using 365 helium party balloons

An adventurer from North Carolina has set off to make an attempt to fly over the Atlantic, suspended under 365 party balloons.

Jonathan Trappe hopes to become the first man to make a 2,500-mile journey by helium balloons, between 18,000ft and 25,000ft, which could take up to seven days to complete, and could land him anywhere from Norway to North Africa, the Mirror reported.

Before setting off on the daredevil task from Caribou, Maine, the 39-year-old IT project manager, who hopes to reach Paris, where the first manned balloon was flown in 1783, admitted that he is just as afraid of dying as anyone else.

Trappe became the only person to cross the English Channel by cluster balloon in May 2010, and flew across the Alps in 2011.