REUTERS, 4 March 2000
U.S. Balloonist Spends Night in Myanmar Hospital
YANGON (Reuters) - American adventurer Kevin Uliassi spent the night in a central Myanmar hospital after aborting his bid to make the first nonstop solo balloon flight around the world, the government said on Saturday.
Uliassi, who landed unexpectedly but safely in the country on Friday, had been put under overnight observation at a township hospital in the central village of Sinthamwe, about 12 miles east of Pagan, a Myanmar government statement said.
Apart from a few bruises he was in good condition, and authorities said he was already planning to tour some temples nearby.
Pagan, one of Myanmar's most famous cultural sites, is 300 miles north of the capital Yangon and home to about 3,000 ancient temples.
Uliassi's wife Renee said he had left a message on a family answering machine on Friday saying where he was but said the control center tracking his flight had not spoken to him.
``Hey Renee, I called the communication center,'' said a transcript of the message posted on the flight Website.
``I'm in Burma. Everything is A-OK. They brought me to a hospital here to check me out. I had some bruises, just bruises.
``I'm going to get a good night's sleep here. We got a gang of balloonists to put the balloon away in the morning...''
Uliassi, a 36-year-old architectural engineer and balloon flight instructor, had been slowed early in his flight by weak winds and storms in the West Indies.
But in the past two days, a strong jet stream had zipped him across east Africa into Asia.
Uliassi's command center near Chicago said on the flight's Web site: ``We...still do not know the details of the last hours of flight and the landing, but we have good reason to believe Kevin executed a controlled landing.
``We also know Kevin still had plenty of fuel, oxygen and food on board, and do not know why Kevin decided to land.''
It said the balloon had been in the air for 242.7 hours covering some 13,246 miles or more than halfway round the world.
Uliassi had hoped to take a southerly route across the Pacific headed for the U.S. West Coast, for a landing somewhere east of Rockford, Illinois, where his flight began February 22.
Uliassi had enough fuel to stay aloft for more than 20 days when he set off. The balloon contained helium in one compartment and propane-heated hot air in the other.
Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard made the first successful global nonstop balloon flight last year in 19 days, beginning in Switzerland and landing in Mauritania. No one has ever made a similar solo trip.
Information on the flight can be found at the Web site http://j.renee.iit.edu.
AP, 4 March 2000
Balloonist Ends Flight in Myanmar
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By KATE N. GROSSMAN Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO (AP) - As they packed up their computers, maps and other navigational equipment, the flight crew that had been tracking balloonist Kevin Uliassi's attempt to circle the globe was at a loss to explain why the trip ended early.
Uliassi landed his balloon safely in a field in the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar on Friday, after traveling more than 13,000 miles. His support team hoped to find out why later today.
``We don't understand why he decided to land,'' said Todd Little, a member of the ground crew. ``He had enough fuel, food and oxygen to make it across the Pacific.''
Little said Myanmar military officials sent a message to the expedition's command center through the State Department saying Uliassi was OK. The balloonist later was able to leave a brief message on his parents' answering machine that he was ``A-OK.''
Uliassi last communicated with his flight crew in the Chicago suburb of Homewood about 13 hours before he landed Friday, saying he was going to sleep.
When the command center noticed he was descending, the crew sought assistance from the State Department, which had the Myanmar government begin a search-and-rescue mission.
Myanmar authorities said he landed about 4:30 a.m. Chicago time, near railroad tracks and a road about 310 miles north of the capital, Yangon.
He was taken to a hospital, where an examination found he suffered only a few bruises, Little said. Uliassi was to spend the night at the hospital, where he hoped to get his first full night of sleep since the balloon lifted off 10 days ago.
Lorenz said the earliest Uliassi could be home was Monday.
Though he didn't reach his goal and his 13,000 miles were still short of the solo long-distance record, Uliassi's wife, Renee, said she could not be disappointed that he did not reach his goal. She said her husband pursued his dream and was able to fly over the Atlantic and Africa and see the world from a perspective few others will have.
Last March, Swiss psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard and English balloon instructor Brian Jones became the first people to circle the world nonstop in a hot air balloon, landing safely in Egypt.
This was Uliassi's second try at becoming the first person to circle the globe alone. On his first attempt, in 1997, his balloon ruptured over O'Hare International Airport, forcing him down in Indiana. Uliassi lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., but has lifted off from the Chicago area to be close to his family and ballooning friends.
Rangoon rebuffed on talks
Thai officials to join Seoul
meet
Bangkok Post, 4 March 2000
Achara
Ashayagachat Thailand is defying Rangoon by sending senior
officials to an international discussion on Burma in Seoul next week. Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung made it clear in a letter to Foreign
Minister Surin Pitsuwan last month that Rangoon was opposed to fellow Asean
states attending the talks. Noppadol Pattama, secretary to the minister, Sihasak Phuongketkeow, deputy
director of East Asian Affairs, and Asada Jayanama, ambassador to the United
Nations, will attend the March 5-6 meeting organised by the South Korean
government, officials said. The meeting is a sequel to the October 1998 meeting at Chilton Park,
England. Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra attended the last meeting, but
sources said only senior officials were attending the gathering in Seoul. Two other Asean states, Malaysia and the Philippines, are also attending, but
Indonesia, whose generals are close to Rangoon, is not. Australia, Canada,
Japan, Portugal (chairman of the European Union), Britain, the United States and
the United Nations are the other participants. Mr Noppadol said he would emphasise Thailand's view that neither the
government nor the opposition in Burma should set pre-conditions for political
reform in the country. In addition, he would emphasise the need to regard Burma "as a reality, not
from an idealistic perspective". Thai officials to join Seoul
meet Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung made it clear in a letter to Foreign
Minister Surin Pitsuwan last month that Rangoon was opposed to fellow Asean
states attending the talks. Noppadol Pattama, secretary to the minister, Sihasak Phuongketkeow, deputy
director of East Asian Affairs, and Asada Jayanama, ambassador to the United
Nations, will attend the March 5-6 meeting organised by the South Korean
government, officials said. The meeting is a sequel to the October 1998 meeting at Chilton Park,
England. Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra attended the last meeting, but
sources said only senior officials were attending the gathering in Seoul. Two other Asean states, Malaysia and the Philippines, are also attending, but
Indonesia, whose generals are close to Rangoon, is not. Australia, Canada,
Japan, Portugal (chairman of the European Union), Britain, the United States and
the United Nations are the other participants. Mr Noppadol said he would emphasise Thailand's view that neither the
government nor the opposition in Burma should set pre-conditions for political
reform in the country. In addition, he would emphasise the need to regard Burma "as a reality, not
from an idealistic perspective".
Bangkok Post , 4 March
2000
Rangoon rebuffed on talks
Achara Ashayagachat
Thailand is defying Rangoon by sending senior officials to
an international discussion on Burma in Seoul next week.