RIVIERE-SALEE (972) 25.12.2011

On 25 December 2011 between 18:35 and 18:40, a driver and his female passenger in Rivière-Salée (972) saw a bright, apparently stationary light swaying in the sky. Initially thinking of fireworks, he continued driving, then stopped to take photographs. At home he saw 3 colored luminous masses following one another in single file while gaining altitude. The summary describes them as orange. They disappeared very quickly. No sound was heard during the several-minute observation, and the gendarmerie collected no other account. GEIPAN favors sky lanterns because they fit the wind, photographs and Christmas date. It nevertheless notes that their irregular movement requires an assumption of rising air currents along the path. The case is classified B: probable sky lanterns.