La Malbaie (Canada) (AFP) – Canadian anti-G7 activists were on Friday reduced to appealing to authorities or bystanders to return their camera after they lost contact with a ballon deployed to hoist it aloft.
The left-leaning environmental group Council of Canadians set up a 50 by 35-meter (150 by 115-foot) banner on ground nine miles from the Quebec golf resort hosting the G7 summit.
They hoped the sign, a crossed out G7 logo, would be visible from the helicopters ferrying in leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
And, as back-up and to provide footage to publicize their stunt, they also wanted aerial footage — despite draconian rules banning private drones from the summit area.
Their solution was to rig a GoPro action camera to helium balloons. The plan hit an immediate snag.
Organizers lost control of the camera rig when strong winds snagged it in a tree, snapping two retention lines.
“The camera was last seen floating toward the G7 summit site at an altitude of approximately 500 meters,” said the group’s regional organizer Mark Calzavara.
“The drifting camera poses no danger to the public, unlike the G7 itself,” he said. “If anyone finds our camera, we would appreciate getting it back.”
The group would like to see the G7 disbanded. It said they have notified Canadian national security officials about their wayward camera.
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